The Secret Sohmas
by Winged Enchantress
Summary: Ever wonder what "Fruits Basket" would've been like if you switched the genders? You have? Well, picture that, but then have the original cast meet them. What do you think would happen then? Joy and laughter. Blood and tears. Lives left behind. Completed
1. Chapter 1

I don't own Fruits Baskets… I think it would be dangerous if I did 

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

What would've happened if you switched the genders?

**Chapter 1 -**

_A young girl ran from train to train, subway to subway; always looking behind her, never looking ahead; racing desperately to escape the world that had made her who she was._

As the original Fruits Basket story began with a young girl named Tohru Honda, so shall this fanfic begin.

It was a winter's day and Tohru was finishing her grocery shopping. She was passing by through the train station after picking up whatever strange snack Shigure had asked for. It had most likely been a joke, but Tohru took all requests seriously, as you know.

She was just about to leave, quite confident with having found the snack and wasn't paying very much attention to where she was going and stumbled over someone's foot. Thankfully for her groceries she merely kicked the toe of said foot and didn't completely fall on her face. When she regained her footing, she turned quickly to the owner of the foot she had stumbled over and was about to bow manically, shouting apologies when she realized who she has stumbled upon.

The shoes were casual sneakers and the pants were loose and the t-shirt was v-necked and a leather-like jacket with a dark trim was flopped over the figure sitting rather lazily in the corner on top of a backpack. The orange hair jutting out from a hat she almost recognized made her smile brightly, though she was slightly confused. "Oh! Kyo-kun! I didn't see you there!"

Tohru grinned and squatted down to meet him, thinking that Kyo, once again, had come to meet her. A hand slipped out from under the coat and the thumb of said hand lifted up the brim of the cap so its wearer could meet Tohru's eye. When first meeting the sharp, orange eyes and stoic expression, Tohru's girly grin stayed lit on her face. But after a moment of looking at those eyes, Tohru's smile began to fade.

This was not Kyo.

Tohru's words tripped over themselves. The figure's eyes were cold and untrusting and the face showed no excitement or care. The figure's eyelashes were longer than Tohru's. Tohru was on the verge of fright, when the bright orange eyes, after meeting Tohru's for only a moment, began to soften and calm.

"Oh, umm, I'm sorry," Tohru stuttered before she could collect herself. "I thought you were someone else."

The Kyo-like figure stood, slipping the coat over her before flinging both straps from her backpack over her shoulder. Yes, indeed, this was a young girl. She stood full height before Tohru stood, and Tohru knew, before even standing, that this girl was taller than her by at least half a head.

"It's alright," the tall girl said smirking, "I thought you were someone else too."

The girl gave Tohru a hand up, and Tohru giggled as she stood, embarrassed a little. "You really do look like him, though."

"Who?" the girl asked looking at Tohru with a side glace.

"Kyo-kun." Tohru smiled and giggled, embarrassed to be telling a girl she looked like a guy. The girl twitched slightly, her eyes narrowing and Tohru was immediately concerned. "What's wrong?"

There was a pause, as if the girl was hesitant to say what was troubling her, until her stomach growled angrily. She went red in the same way that Kyo would: slightly red cheeked and a slightly angry looking side glance at the giggling Tohru. Her giggle turned quickly to concern. "Have you eaten yet?" It was middle to late afternoon and the girl pocketed her hands and replied negatively.

"Oh, well, come, please, I'll feed you something. But, oh, wait, you were waiting for a train, weren't you?"

"It's alright." The girl said, reshouldering her pack. "It doesn't matter if I miss it." The girl actually seemed somewhat relieved and Tohru smiled as they strolled out of the station.

"So, um, where were you going?" she asked curiously.

"Nowhere," the girl replied looking ahead.

Tohru blinked, confused. "So, then, why were you waiting for a train if you're not going anywhere?"

"Because I have nowhere to go. Isn't that what run-a-ways do when they have nowhere to go?" the girl looked at Tohru for that last comment.

"Oh!" Tohru gasped, "You ran away? But, what about your family?"

"Don't have any," she replied, "I lost my folks when I was a kid. Some sort of accident, not that I remember."

"So you're an orphan?"

"Yup." She didn't sound like she cared much about it.

"I'm an orphan too." Tohru's voice was soft, almost nostalgic, and the girl turned and looked at her with sympathy as well as something else that Tohru didn't catch. "But the people I stay with are the greatest family I could ever ask for and I'd be very sad to leave them."

Tohru smiled up at the girl and the girl merely looked back at her. It wasn't until the girl broke her stare and looked forward again that she whispered, "I'm happy for you."

Tohru kept smiling but she could see that this girl, like Kyo and Yuki, had a silent voice inside her that Tohru couldn't understand. "So, what do you want to eat?"

The rest of the conversation consisted of silence and food. During the silences, Tohru found herself inspecting the girl. She really did look like Kyo in almost every possible way without being too masculine (so, a bit like Uo). Her stride was tall and confident, and she walked a little in front of Tohru even though the girl didn't know where they were going. Her hair was a bit longer in the back than Kyo's, and she held the bits long enough in the back in a small ponytail. The bangs were still cut the same. She didn't seem to like the hat she was wearing and fiddled with it a bit, turning it in different directions and such. She finally took it off when they were inside Shigure's house.

Tohru wasn't sure why she had led this run-a-way all the way to her house. It just felt natural, like she really had been walking with Kyo the whole time and the girl looked natural inside the house. With a second glance as she led the girl to the main room, she felt that she could trust this girl and that, seeing the girl's eyes and seeing how much colder they were compared to Kyo's, that this girl needed someone to trust her, even if it was just a little bit for a little while.

Tohru looked around to find no one was home before she asked the girl to sit at the table as she went to make some tea. The girl flopped down heavily, though she made no sound when she hit the tatami. She didn't put her feet under the heated table, either. She bent her legs in front of her and leaned back on her hands, her head falling back at first. She didn't start scanning the room until Tohru had stumbled into the kitchen. She kept her coat on. She had loose denim jeans with a green stripe up the side that matched the sleeves of her V-necked T-shirt.

There wasn't much to see in the room. There were no pictures on the walls and many of the doors were closed, except one room that had books scattered on the floor and the kitchen where she could hear Tohru. She was considering getting up to help Tohru when she heard an unseen door open and close. Tohru had just walked out of the kitchen with a tray of tea when a quiet call came from the next room. "I'm back."

"Oh, Yuki-kun, welcome! I just made tea!" Tohru got the tray to the table when Yuki entered. Yuki had seen the sneakers in the entryway and assumed that Kyo had also returned and gave the red-headed figure sitting across from Tohru an emotionless glance and was about to pass through the room, when the girl turned her head to him. "Yuki, huh? Isn't that a girl's name?"

Yuki stopped and turned only his head at first. Tohru was trying to hide her innocent smile. The one Yuki had thought was Kyo hadn't moved her stance on the floor, but tilted her head so that her sharp, orange eyes met Yuki's storm gray ones. The comment had been a casual one and one not usually heard from a guest. There were a few 'ice crystals' tossed about the room and Tohru became extremely worried that the girl's opinion of Yuki would be the same as the real Kyo's.

Yuki turned toward them as Tohru finished pouring tea for all three of them. "Who is this?"

Tohru was hugging the empty tray in excitement. "She's a run-a-way I thought was Kyo being slouchy. Doesn't she look like Kyo?"

Yuki didn't need to comment on the physical similarity or her personality. The girl folded her legs Indian style and picked up her tea. Again, she didn't put her legs under the table, probably because she knew she'd be hot in her coat. Yuki approached the table and stood over the Kyo-like girl for a moment, before sitting at his cup of tea. "What's your name?"

The girl took her time in answering, sipping her tea calmly. "Ko."

"Ko?" Tohru smiled. "Welcome to the Sohma house, Ko-chan!"

The girl, Ko, shot-gunned the rest of her tea and set it down a little harder than she had before. Tohru quickly refilled it before starting to stand.

"What's your family name?" Yuki asked, picking up his tea. Ko turned and took up the less formal position she was in when Yuki first entered the room, except now she was on one hand and sipping tea. "Don't got one."

"You don't have a family name?" Tohru asked, peaking her head back from the kitchen.

Ko sipped her tea and replied as casually as if she was talking about the tea. "I renounced it when I ran away. I'm through with that world." She shot-gunned her tea again and placed the cup back on the table. Tohru pulled back into the kitchen with a little sigh. Yuki just starred at the cup that Ko had placed back on the table. Ko looked at the cup for a moment too, then looked up at Yuki and back at the cup a few times. "So, are you going to refill that, or what?"

The dinner was relatively pleasant. Ko shouted less than Kyo did, although Yuki was politer to his female guest than he was to Kyo. There was a lot of talking through Tohru since Ko and Yuki didn't seem to particularly like each other, though Ko would be more bold and ask Yuki, directly, whatever questions she felt like asking him, and she asked quite a few of both of them for not talking much. They couldn't get very much out of her. She said she remembered little from her childhood, and her parents were both dead. Where she had been her whole life or any other family she would not speak of and she slipped past the questioning of them very skillfully. Though, she did say that "they" would probably come looking for her, though she did not say who "they" were. She also said that "they" didn't like when any of "us" were outside their reach. She didn't explain who "us" were either.

Nothing of particular note happened that dinner. There was conversation and Ko asked Tohru about her cooking and when Tohru let it slip that Yuki had a garden, Ko actually inquired about it, saying that she had worked in a garden once or twice.

The event of the night occurred when Kyo returned. They were all still sitting at the table chatting and finally removing the teacups when they heard him enter. He was rather loud with removing his coat and taking off his shoes.

Tohru had all the teacups on her tray, and she smiled brightly, "Oh, Kyo-kun's back."

Kyo didn't sound like he had had a very good day. "Hey, whose shoes are these? Is Haru here or something?"

Ko's head turned to see this one enter. And enter he did, looking slightly disgruntled. He didn't feel like dealing with Hatsuharu right now. But he didn't find Hatsuharu sitting with Tohru and Yuki. He found a figure with orange hair and orange eyes starring directly at him. Kyo went rather rigid, his eyes wide and he gave a sort of shout, which Ko echoed. She pulled back and collided with the table. She didn't look just surprised, she looked terrified. Her head darted from Kyo to Yuki and she fell over the table completely. Tohru put her tray down and ran to Ko as Ko was scrambling to her feet. "What's wrong? It's just Kyo."

"**That's** Kyo? I didn't think that they'd go to such lengths to mess with me." Ko pulled herself to her feet and ran for an exit.

"But, wait. I-" Tohru took her arm.

"I should've known it was a trap! I let you and Yuki slide, but not this. You can't take me back!" Ko ripped her arm from Tohru, throwing her as she did. Tohru looked hurt, but Ko gave her a look that looked as if Tohru had broken a bond that had been much deeper than just today.

Ko was out the shoji door. Yuki was caught from the upturned table so the extra second went to Kyo to catch the girl who had thrown Tohru to the side.

"Hey! Get back here!" Kyo grabbed Ko by the coat collar, both of them in their socks in the snow outside.

"No!" she screamed as she pulled at her coat to get it off her. "I won't go back! I'll die before I go back there!" He coat came free, but something caught in the sleeve which gave Kyo enough time to grab her wrist as it came free. Half on her wrist, half clutched in her hand, Ko held a beaded bracelet of blood and bone. Kyo, on the arm that held the girl's wrist, wore the exact same one. A shock wave passed through all of them. Kyo's eyes were locked on the bracelet until the girl's other hand came up to pull it from him. But Kyo was stronger than her and she barely pulled once before her eyes began to brim with tears and she fell to her knees in the snow.


	2. Chapter 2

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

I'd like to thank xmissayumix, JennyKim319, and Demon in the Snow for giving me such supportive reviews, and so quickly too! I didn't expect three already!

Xmissayumix – I'm sorry I chose Ko's name before you suggested one, but I think you'll like this one too.

JennyKim319 - You liked the chapter ending too, huh? Well, I hope I can keep it up!

Demon in the Snow – I love your name! Thank you for enjoying my writing style and thank you for the luck. I love luck too.

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**Chapter 2 -**

_A quiet chime rang in the corner of the room and the young girl reached over to check it. She had a new test message that consisted of four words: _I FOUND MORE SOHMAS

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Ko sat against the wall in Tohru's room. A while before she had run out of the house and been stopped by a young man who could've been her twin and fallen to the ground weeping when she saw that they had been tied to the same fate. She had passed out, or faked it. The last thing she wanted was to explain herself.

She tilted her head and looked at Tohru through the darkness. _ I can understand the others, but why are you here?_

She slept the rest of the night. She was aroused once when Tohru came in before she went to school, though she pretended to still be asleep.

"Should I wake her up? Well, she'll want breakfast when she wakes up, right? Should I leave her a note? I'll just be a minute."

Ko waited restlessly another hour after she heard them all leave for school, to make sure they were gone. Next to her head was a small note that Tohru had left: _Breakfast is in the kitchen._

Ko sat up, picked it up lightly and looked at it for a minute. It seemed so real.

She picked herself up and brushed herself off and found her way to the kitchen. There was egg and rice and toast and little jams. Ko smiled at the second note: _I wasn't sure what you liked. I hope this is all right. I made lunch too. It's in the fridge. I hope you like that too._

Sure enough, when Ko looked in the fridge, there was a little wrapped up package with a third note that she didn't bother to read.

She leaned against the counter and sighed. She looked over at the breakfast she had heard Tohru make that morning. Reluctantly she picked it up and moved it over to the table. Strands in the tatami mat were dented or broken from when she had tripped over the table. She shifted her seat so she couldn't see them and ate slowly in silence.

She washed all the dishes when she was done. Glancing at the fridge, she pulled out the lunch Tohru had prepared for her and the note: _Here's lunch. We'll see you after school. XO, Tohru_

Ko placed the lunch package in her backpack and headed for the door. A voice stopped her before she got to her shoes.

"Leaving so soon?"

Ko turned to find a man in a traditional kimono standing in his doorway, fixing his glasses. "How can we see you after school if you leave?"

Ko smirked at the man, not curious about whom he was. "Did they tell you about last night?"

"Of course. I require knowing about all young woman in my house."

Ko gave a breath of a laugh. "That comes to no surprise. You're the dog, right?"

The brown-haired man, Shigure, smiled his secretive, suave smile. "Sohma Shigure. Always glad to meet a fan."

Ko shook her head and went for her shoes. "Good-bye, Shigure-kun."

"Why are you leaving without saying good-bye to the others? It's not very polite to the hosts."

Ko looked at the floor. She could see both her shoes and the door from where she stood. "I have to keep moving."

"But why? You're safe here."

There was a pause. "I'm not safe anywhere." And she stepped down and slipped on her shoes.

"But you like it here and you're curious."

Ko stopped and, after a moment, sat down on the step. Shigure was leaning against the doorframe. "You're the cat, right?"

Ko slowly fell against the wall and the beads around her wrist clinked softly as she hid her face.

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When the three arrived home after school, after a brief stop at the dojo to tell Shishio that Kyo couldn't stay, they found that Ko's shoes were gone. They had barely gotten in the house when Shigure frolicked past them to slip on his shoes and coat.

"Shigure, where's the girl?" Kyo asked, disgusted with Shigure's frolicking.

"Oh, she's around here somewhere." He smiled carelessly and skipped out the door humming to himself.

So the hunt began. Ko's bag was still in Tohru's room, its contense spilled. The bathtub had been used and dishes had been cleaned.

"She's not in the house."

"You don't think she's outside, do you?"

The snow wasn't very deep at all and had begun to melt some that day, but when they looked out back, they found footprints leading into the trees. Looking at each other, they quickly resnagged their shoes and coats and headed into the woods. They hadn't gone far when they found her sitting on a low branch.

Kyo spoke first. "Hey, you. What are you doing?"

She looked at him coldly, and then pointed up to a nest where a small bird quickly fled. They all watched it flee until it passed by Ko and she smiled a very small, peaceful smile. "We don't have those where I came from."

------------

The conversations started up again inside.

"I've been on the run for the past 3 days."

Tohru brought more tea. "On the run from what?"

"Being the cat." There was a slight pause before Ko put on a humorous grimace and turned to Kyo. "Does it suck here as much as it sucks where I came from?"

Kyo scowled a bit to himself. "It sucks pretty bad here."

"Yeah, well, at least you don't live in the main house. You have a nice set up here away from everything." Her face began to transform from a humorous grimace to anger. "You have some peace."

All three of them looked like they had something to say, but Ko wasn't done. "And you're guys. They can only kick you around so much."

Both Yuki and Kyo 'humphed', both their own silent way of saying that they get kicked around plenty.

Ko let them not believe her and put an empty cup down on the table. "Yuki, fill me up."

---

The conversation went on. Everyone was extremely curious about the there being an unknown second cat. Were there others? Did they all have a second zodiac? How did this one exist outside their knowledge? Ko wouldn't reviel much of anything about herself even though her secret was out, but she continued to probe into Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru. This conversation was relatively louder than the pleasant dinner conversation they had had last night, although this time they had Kyo. Sometimes Kyo and Ko would gang up on Yuki and some times they were at each other's throats. She was a very loud and physical girl when she felt like it.

When it came time to prepare dinner and Tohru wondered if they all wanted to help, Ko dragged both the boys into the kitchen and forced them to help (even though they both probably would've helped anyway) and there was more shouting.

It calmed down when the dinner was served, though they were all comfortable with each other now. After small comments were made about how such and such a person messed up such and such a course, they all gladly dug in.

No sooner had they started did the door open and the rather boisterous voice of Shigure filled the house. "Hello, dearies! I'm home!"

"You're late." Yuki commented.

Shigure hopped through the door, more peppy than usual. "Sorry. I was at the main house and ran into someone. Where's my dinner?"

"I ate it because we didn't think you were coming." Ko said, swirling her tea. Shigure was all in tears, but a voice coming through the doorway cut him off before he could say anything. "It seems that you're doing just fine."

They all turned and looked up at the soft, but chilled voice from the doorway. Standing there with a black shoulder bag and a black school uniform embroidered with white was the most fragile girl Tohru, or any of them, had ever seen. She was not a sickly kind of delicate, not at all. The only part of her that seemed sickly was the paleness of her skin, but that was an alabaster white. She seemed like some kind of specter. Her eyes were gray and cloudy and her expression serious and narrowed. Her hair was gray and short, as short as Rin's would one day be. She presented the illusion of being tall, though she was shorter than Ko, her posture rigid and perfect. She was, in every way, Yuki's twin.

Ko shot up. "Yuki-chan! What the heck are you doing here?"

The delicate girl placed her bag down. "You sent me a text message."

Ko's voice had grown loud again. "That was a 'I'm alive' text message, not an 'I'm dying, come find me' text message."

The fragile girl had bypassed Ko and bowed to the party eating. "I'd like to apologize for my cousin's behavior."

"How'd you find me, dang it!"

The girl looked over at her, her expression never changing. "I looked up the largest Sohma residence in the area your train went and it led me here."

Shigure rubbed the back of his head. "And I found her outside the main house and she said she was looking for you."

"Oh, God, they know what direction my train went?" Ko ruffled her hair with frustration.

"She was going to the main house?" Yuki asked, almost coughing in his tea.

"Yup, caught her before she got there and brought her here."

"Thank you for catching her." Yuki was extremely relieved, knowing that if a girl looking exactly like him strolled into the Sohma house, they'd all think it was him and he'd never hear the end of it.

The fragile girl stood. "Hurry up and eat your dinner, Kyo-san. We're leaving."

Everyone looked up, but Ko answered. "No, Yuki, I'm not going back. I told you that before I left."

"Be serious, Kyo, you can't just leave the main house. It's causing problems for all of us. They have us under lock and key. I only managed to come here because I snuck off from school."

"Go home then before they worry. They don't want me there and I'm not going back."

"Of course they want you there, Kyo, be reasonable."

"No! They want me to keep my mouth shut. They're only worried about themselves!"

"Don't make me fight you, Kyo. You know how it hurts me to fight you, but I will."

"That's why you're here too, isn't it! Now that I'm gone, you're the next best toy, aren't you! Well, I won't go back. I'm not going back just because you want me to amuse him so you don't have to!"

"Kyo, please, that's not it at all."

"GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY LIFE! Don't steal the little light I have!" Ko's shouts had turned into a rage. She stormed over to the fragile girl's bag and thrust it out for her, standing by the door so that the party at the table could not see them. The girl Ko had called Yuki bowed to the party, after a pause, stood and walked out of the room. She took the bag that Ko held out for her and slipped on her shoes. "For your information, Kyo-san, I came here because Honda-san asked me to."

Ko stayed rigid as the girl called Yuki slipped noiselessly out the door and back into the cold night. Ko moved only after the sound of the fragile girl's gentle feet was gone. Ko moved back into the main room to see them all looking at her, all with their own expressions.

The dams in Ko's eyes looked like they were about to break. "Sorry," and she turned and hurried out the side door. _Don't do that_, she thought as she left. _Don't look at me with such pity. I don't want pity anymore._

---

Tohru followed her footprints in the dark to the spot where they had found her earlier that day. She was standing in her socks looking up at the empty nest. "It's gone," she whispered. "It may not have ever been here." Ko slumped to her knees as she had the first night when she felt utter defeat, and then onto her backside, her arms in between her knees. Tohru crouched down next to her.

"So, umm, your name's Kyo?"

"My name's Kyoko, but no one ever calls me that."

"Oh, my mom's name's Kyoko!"

"Really?" Kyoko smiled a bit to match Tohru's before it faded. "I never had a mom..."

And Tohru stayed with her in the snow until her tears she couldn't cry finally subsided inside her.

---

When they came back in the house everything had been cleaned up.

"Oh look," Tohru smiled when they got to the kitchen. "They packed up our dinners. That's so thoughtful."

Tohru took the dinners back out, unwrapped them (not that they were wrapped with much skill) and warmed them up again. "So, that girl's name was Yuki, too?"

"Yukiko," Kyoko corrected, "But no one calls her that much."

Tohru giggled and Kyoko gave her a look. "It's just cute because she seems older than Yuki."

"She looks it, doesn't she." Kyoko smirked over her dinner. "We hit our teenage years and suddenly we age." Her voice was quiet and Tohru knew that there was something Kyoko wasn't saying. Tohru would wait.

"I guess I should thank you." Kyoko looked at herself in the broth. "and the boys too."

"For what?" Tohru asked.

"For coming after me, for being concerned." She drank her broth as quickly as she shot-gunned her tea. Her mood had recovered. "Makes a girl feel special, ya know?"

Tohru giggled a bit at Kyoko's smirk. "I'm very glad."

-----------------

It wasn't until they had gotten into bed that Kyoko sat up and looked over at Tohru. "I'm sorry... about dinner, I mean."

Tohru sat up quickly. "Oh, no. It's alright!" Tohru's voice was loud and apologetic. It caused a few shadows to form outside the door.

"It's just that... Yukiko's always there."

Tohru looked over at the silhouette sitting against her wall. "Do you not like Yukiko-san?"

The silhouette shifted, the head falling back against the wall. "No. I don't hate her. I just can't bring myself to hit her. So I shout. I can shout and scream until I'm mute and she's deaf, but that would never accomplish anything..."

Kyo moved from his stance by the girls' door to find Yuki standing behind him. They had all been listening. Yuki met Kyo's eyes for just a brief moment, but it was long enough to share that he knew the truth in those words. It had been a truth that he had only recently begun to understand.

The girls fell silent and Kyo and Yuki went to their own rooms and a quiet fell over the house.

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Note -Ko as an ending means 'child'. So if Yuki means 'snow', then Yukiko means 'snow child'


	3. Chapter 3

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

I don't own Fruits Basket… I really don't think you'd want me to.

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I'd like to thank you all who are reading this. The fact that you're reading my work makes me very happy!

I'd like to thank the two reviewers that came back to read my second chapter:

xmissayumix – I'm so very happy you like my second chapter as much as my first. I'm sorry I didn't update this 3rd one as quickly as I did the 2nd. But this one is long and should be ever better than the previous ones… I hope.

JennyKim319 – I'm so happy you like my names! I was so worried. I, actually, didn't even realize that Tohru's mother even spelled her name that way until I looked it up to check. I love coincidences! If you have any suggestions for the older Sohmas, I'd love to hear them. Their names are much more difficult to think of.

-And I'd like to thank the newcomer, keiko-lily, for loving my story and hoping there are many more chapters. This story won't have as many chapters as other stories I have written, but this one also has much longer chapters than other stories I have written. I'm also hoping on writing a spoof-like bonus chapter if I can pull myself together.

--

Please enjoy!

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**Chapter 3 - **

_The room was dark and warm when she entered it. She knew whose hands reached out through the darkness so she remained where she stood, pressed to the door, and waited._

_-------------_

Kyoko woke up just in time to see Kyo, Yuki and Tohru off to school. She had missed eating breakfast with them, but, sure enough, Tohru had left hers laid out with another note. Tohru had made her lunch again too. Kyoko's face lit up with a genuine smile, a smile that few have ever seen, a smile that revealed her true age.

She bathed earlier today and so had more time to wait for the three to return. Dressed in a dark green T with black trim and loose black pants to match, Kyoko set about the house to keep her hands busy. Tohru kept a tight house so there wasn't much of anything that needed doing. She attempted to fix the bit of broken tatami mat, but there wasn't much she could do about it without getting a new one.

Looking up from the table, she spotted Shigure's room and the books strewn about on the floor. Sighing, she stood and slunk into the room and started gathering books from where they lay scattered. Shigure was sitting at his little desk. He smirked. "Now, what may you be doing?"

"I'm cleaning up your room." Kyoko didn't look at him, she just picked up books.

"My, my, it seems I have a second little housewife."

"Don't look too far into it, dog-boy, I'm just bored out of my mind and your room bothers me."

Shigure stood, removing his glasses and laying them on the desk. "Admit it, you just wanted to see me."

"I'm looking for some window into your soul to tell me how the heck anyone can live with you."

"Well," hummed Shigure, whisking by her to the door. "Let me know when you're done."

Kyoko didn't turn to make her reply comment. "You know I hate you, right?"

"Of course," Shigure grinned as he slunk away. Kyoko shook her head and was content enough to be without Shigure's company and having a task large enough to eat up some time.

Shigure returned soon enough. Kyoko had stacked the books and rolled up blankets with minimum patience and kicked stuff off the floor. Shigure was very pleased to find books unearthed that he forgot he had. He sat down with one or two of them and asked Kyoko to join him. She wouldn't give him the pleasure, but sat against the inside of the doorframe, her legs spread over the door track.

"So tell me about your cousin. She didn't say much when I tried to talk to her."

"Yukiko? No, she probably wouldn't talk to you. She doesn't like guys. She's always been the mature one." Kyoko sighed in her slightly peeved way. "She's always doing things like that, ya know. Trying to undermine me. It's irritating."

"She's **always** doing that?"

"I lived with her before I came here. It didn't matter what I did, she could always do it better. Not that either of us got praised much for anything. Her mom's a jerk and her sister's an all out, high maintenance nut-job."

A sweat-drop appeared on Shigure's forehead, realizing that Kyoko had to have been talking about their equivalent of Ayame.

"I could never really think of them as family."

Shigure tilted his head, his glasses slipping down his nose. "Did you have any family?"

"Well, I guess the ones I thought most as family would be my sensei..."

Shigure smiled expectingly, seeing that Kyo's sensei was his adopted father, but he looked over at Kyoko and she began to raise a hand to her mouth. "And his son..." She wasn't looking at Shigure but out into the opposite room, her slender fingers spread across the lower half of her face. She looked eerily beautiful, the hair in the back loose against her neck. Shigure turned from her for a moment. "Did you love him?"

Kyoko's eyes went wide and she jumped up, flustered, waving her hands. "No, no, no, it's nothing like that. I mean-"

Shigure's eyes looked up to meet hers, but she wasn't looking at him. She raised the hand to her face, her other hand to support the arm, and she was gazing off into the other room again. "Perhaps... Perhaps I did." Her eyes shimmered with water and her cheeks were painted with a flattering blush. She turned to Shigure, who was now standing. "Do you think it's wrong to love someone that much older?"

Shigure approached her. "How much older?"

"He can't be much younger than you." Kyoko was against the door as Shigure hovered over her, his head low. "No, that's not wrong."

She looked up at him and he looked down at her, mere inches from her face. For a moment she let him hover there, then she smirked. "You know I hate you, right?"

"Of course." He smiled.

She patted him twice on the cheek and slid out from under his gaze. Just then, as if on cue, the doorbell rang and Shigure watched Kyoko pass through the room to get the front door. He shook his head with a mischievous grin and closed his door.

--

"YUKI-CHAN!"

Yukiko, the fragile girl from the day before, wearing the same elegant and expensive looking school uniform, slipped off her shoes at the door.

"What are you doing here?" Kyoko demanded angrily, taking the girl's bag. When Yukiko finished removing her shoes and neatly placing them next to Kyoko's, she took her bag back. "Death in the family. They let me go early."

"Why you little-" Kyoko almost laughed. "You're here before the others got home."

"Speaking of others," Yukiko followed Kyoko to Tohru's room, placed her bag down and sat on Tohru's bed, pulling out a cell phone. "Hara's coming."

"WHAT!? Hara? Why's Hara coming?"

Yukiko was taping at her phone. "She insisted. She forgot her things, though, so she had to stop back at the main house first."

"Oh, God! You mean Hara's coming by herself?"

"She was suppose to meet me here." Yukiko stated, not looking up from the phone.

Kyoko sighed and fell down on the mat she had slept on. "She's probably in Indonesia by now."

"I'm sending her step by step instructions. She should be fine."

"Yeah, if she can find the station in the next two days."

"She might not have left the house yet."

"WHAT!? She hasn't left yet?"

"Last I checked, she said she was just leaving."

Kyoko flipped over on the mat she was on and sighed bitterly. "It's probably because of Ren."

"Possibly."

"I hope that guy gets himself raped."

Yukiko looked down at Kyoko's back with cold eyes. "You shouldn't say things like that, Kyo-san. It might just happen."

"Yeah, well, I don't care. Someone should at least take that stick out of his ass."

Yukiko went back to her phone. "I think that's what Hara's trying to do."

Kyoko's figure scrunched up, before flipping back over and stretching. "Dang it, why does Akito not care about her."

"I think he does, even if she is a bit eccentric."

"You'd think he'd like that, though."

"I don't know." Yukiko shrugged, still typing away.

"She probably gave herself up to Ren or something."

Yukiko looked up again. "You'd don't think she'd do that, do you?"

"Ya never know with Hara."

"I hope she didn't. She's too young for that."

"Yeah well, maybe she just told Akito that. Not like she hasn't lied to him before. You ever lied to him?"

Yukiko looked up like that was a stupid question. "Of course I have. I'd have to. He wanted to see me last night."

"Already?"

"He said he wanted to know why I was so late."

"What'd ya tell him?"

"I said I was with my boyfriend."

Kyoko had gotten serious, but at the last comment she started laughing. "Aw, that's a good one. Like you'd let any guy get anywhere near you. Did he believe you?"

"I doubt it, but he let me go either way." Yukiko finally snapped her phone shut. "She's on the train."

Kyoko sat up. "Good." She started looking around the room. "Hey, do you have a shoe or a brush or anything?"

"Yes, why?" Yukiko removed a brush from her shoulder bag and handed it to Kyoko who took it and hucked it at the door. There was a loud yelp.

"Mind your own business, Shigure!"

Shigure, who had been lurking outside the door, slid it open a crack so they could see how embarrassed he was.

"Oh, come on."

Both Kyoko and Yukiko stood. Yukiko spoke for her voice could be the coldest. "This is not for your ears." Both Kyoko and Yukiko sent stares at Shigure harsh enough to make blood run cold. They were both angry enough and icy enough to warn him to forget all that he had heard and Shigure slipped away toughly whipped.

------------------

When Tohru, Yuki, and Kyo came home, they were surprised to find a second pair of shoes in their entrance. Coming inside, they found Shigure tied up in his room, Yukiko reading and Kyoko laying on her back tossing a ball up in the air chatting with her cousin. Kyoko caught her ball and sat up. "See! I told you they'd be back any minute!"

"Shut-up, already."

Tohru looked nervous. "Should we untie Shigure-san?"

Kyo and Yuki made no sign that they intended to do so, so Hatsuharu did it. Kyoko and Yukiko's eyes followed Haru as he went. Tohru smiled brightly when Haru returned. "This is Hatsuharu-san. He wanted to meet you."

"And Momiji! Momiji wants to meet you too!" A bouncy blond boy appeared from behind the rather stoic white-haired boy.

Kyoko's face lit up. "Aw, Momo!" She stuck her hands out and Momiji slapped them accordingly (double low five). Momiji laughed. "Momo's my little sister's name. How did you know my sister's name?"

Kyoko smirked and elbowed Yukiko. "We've got a Momo back home and she looks just like you."

This made Momiji extremely happy and jumpy and he leaped on Kyoko in a big hug. "Yeah! That makes Momiji so happy!"

Kyoko quickly became less friendly and peeled Momiji off her. "Sit, rabbit."

Haru was still standing there looking the same as ever and Yukiko walked over and bowed to him since Kyoko was being clung to. "Pleasure to meet you, Hatsuharu-san. My name is Yukiko."

"Yo." He said in reply.

Kyoko elbowed Yukiko again, joining her to look Haru over. "He's just like her, doesn't he. He's even got the tattoo."

"Like who?" Yuki asked, turning from watching Momiji cling to Tohru.

Kyoko rolled her eyes a bit with a smirk and Yukiko answered for her. "Our cousin, Hara. We'll be picking her up in a little while."

Kyoko bent over past Yukiko "Apparently she wanted to come, too."

"Oh, wow." Tohru smiled happily, clapping her hands.

"There're more of you!" Momiji was jumping cheerfully. "How many? How many?"

"I believe there are as many of us as there are of you." Yukiko pointed out. A horrified look passed over Yuki and Kyo as if a great ominous storm cloud chose them to dump a bucket of cold water upon to drain away all possible cheer. Haru didn't seem to care and Momiji became even more excited. "We should have them all over and have a party."

The terrible storm cloud spread and passed over Kyoko. Yukiko straightened herself up. "I don't think I would trust them all here."

Kyoko looked as if she was about to faint when a chime sounded through the room. Kyoko growled. "I hate that ring."

Yukiko pulled out her cell and checked her new text. "She's on the subway. We should head over." The two girls headed for the entrance.

"I want to come. I want to come!" Momiji squealed. "Another Haru sounds fun!"

"Well, it's a girl Haru."

"OO! That sounds even better! Is she cute?"

"Ehehe, you could say that."

Tohru smiled, just as excited as Momiji. "We should all go."

Shigure appeared behind them. "I'll go too!"

The two girls and their male counter parts sent Shigure a cold glance. It was a 'We don't want you to come, but if you are you better behave' glare.

---------------------

It was a pleasant walk to the station. Spring was coming, but it was still cold. The group took up basically the entire sidewalk, but they didn't mind (except possibly Tohru and the Yukis). There were questions about Hara and Momiji asked a lot of questions about their Momo. Apparently the members of Kyoko and Yukiko's families split into groups of sorts. Kyoko, Yukiko and Hara were a click and Momo mostly hung out with the younger group, though she did go back and forth since she was the same age as Hara.

She was easy to find. She stood against the wall, a long white coat draped over a cylinder-like duffle bag. She wore leather boots, tight, faded jeans with a belt with a colossal silver buckle that matched her necklace. A black long sleeve shirt left a silver of her waist uncovered. She had a decent-sized bust. She wore gloves, a collection of jewelry, and a cowboy hat hid her eyes. She was barely taller than Kyoko. When they got closer they found her hair was almost exactly like Haru's except in the back. There was a thigh-long length of hair wrapped up in black leather from the back of her head.

"Hey, Hara!" Kyoko shouted across the way. The cowgirl, with one hand lodged lazily in a small pocket, tilted her head so her elegant brown eyes appeared from beneath the brim of her hat. She looked dangerously beautiful.

"Stop that, Hara. You're going to scare them."

Hara flicked her hat so it didn't hide her eyes and turned to Haru in her stoic, but flirtatious manner. "Am I scary?"

Yukiko sighed, "Of course Haru's not going to be scared of you."

"Nice choice of a place to wait, Hara," Kyoko coughed as she got bowled over by people rushing from the subway.

"I agree," said Hara, picking up her duffle with one arm and throwing her coat over the other shoulder. "It's almost hard to breath."

"That's not a good thing!" Kyoko hissed at Hara as they started moving through the crowd. "What if something happened to Yukiko?"

Hara leaned foreword to see her cousin. "Are you alright, Yuki-chan?" Yukiko had loosed the top button of her uniform, but she shook her head. "I'm fine, Hara-san, really. Everyone, this is Sohma Hatsuhara."

Hara stopped to bow to everyone even though they were all still walking. Kyoko and Yukiko sighed.

"So, wait, you guys are Sohmas, too?"

"The faces and the names are the same but I serious doubt that we're closely related." Yukiko stated quickly.

"Even within our family, it seems like we're barely related." Kyoko grumbled.

"But the curse is the same?"

"Ooh, yeah."

Somehow they believed them.

Hara didn't quicken her pace very much to catch up, but when she did and they were almost out of the station, she was bumped by someone going the other way. "Woh,"

Yukiko sighed. "Hara, you lost your coat."

Hara turned and looked back to see her coat on the ground. "Oh, look. I did."

Yukiko shook her head and went to get it, but she had barely picked it up when another load of people rushed off the subway. She was quickly swarmed.

"Yuki-chan!" Kyoko shouted into the crowd. "Ya gotta be quick, girl!"

But though Yukiko tried, she kept getting cut off, and having the curse, she couldn't just blindly charge into the crowd for fear of transforming. Coming this deep in the get Hara had been risk enough.

Yukiko was tall, but she wasn't that tall and she was vanishing quickly behind the crowd. She pulled back against the wall and it became harder for her to breath. Kyoko and Hara quickly realized what was happening, as did some of the Sohmas.

"Yuki!" Kyoko leaped into the crowd without a second thought. Hara was a bit more careful. Crowds were very dangerous to the Sohmas.

Tohru turned to the Yuki standing next to her. "Yuki-kun, you don't think that Yukiko-chan has a condition too, do you?"

Yuki was looking into the crowd. "If that's what's wrong, then she most likely has it worse than I do."

Tohru suddenly became very frightened, as did Momiji. Neither of the girls were in sight. There came a loud cry and Hara's coat came into view. Apparently she was pushing people out of the way with it. Behind her, walking like a firefighter and her fallen victim, Kyoko marched forward with Yukiko in her arms. "I got ya, girl."

Yukiko coughed. "Please, Kyo-san, you're embarrassing me."

"Yeah, well, be quicker next time and I wouldn't have to save you."

They all marched out, quickly and carefully. Haru had gathered up Hara's bag. Once outside, and free of the people, Kyoko propped Yukiko up on a bench. "Ya damn rat, you shouldn't do stuff like that."

"It's not like I - had a choice." Yukiko's voice was soft and breathy.

"You could've made Hara get her own stupid coat." Kyoko unbuttoned the top of Yukiko's uniform to better allow her to breath. Yukiko started to swat her away. "It's okay. I'm fi-" She broke into a painful fit of coughing before she could finish. Hara took Yukiko's head in both her hands. "You shouldn't try to lie when you're sick. It's bad luck."

Yukiko didn't have the breath to tell her to shut-up.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." And Kyoko picked her up, Hara pulling her coat over her. One could've frozen that moment and made it into a war memorial. With Kyoko heaving Yukiko gently in her arms, looking forward, determined to move her; Yukiko curled up in her arms like a helpless babe; and Hara seeming unusually motherly and caring, adjusting the coat so that Yukiko stayed covered.

_They're all so strong_, Tohru thought, as the three girls returned to them. Tohru looked at the boys around her and wondered to herself, _I wonder if they could all band together like that, even if they don't like each other..._

"Does someone have Hara's bag? I'm not going back in there!"

Haru presented it to Hara. It was a very amusing scene since they looked exactly alike and acted very similarly.

"Wow, Kyoko-chan. You're very strong." Tohru commented on the girl carrying Yukiko.

"It's nothing. Yukiko's got nothing on her. Yuki could carry her."

Tohru smiled, "Yuki-kun's very strong too."

Kyoko looked Yuki up and down with a raised eyebrow. "Really? He doesn't look like much, either."

Yuki went red and both the ox folk spoke up against her. "Don't be mean to Yuki-kun."

"He's cute like a panda." Hara stated. Haru nodded his head in agreement. Yuki just looked very very confused. "Why a panda?"

When they got back to the house, they laid Yukiko down and analyzed her.

"It wasn't a very bad attack," Yuki said, as a cold pack was brought for Yukiko's head.

"Trust the other Yuki to know, right? I've lived with this one, rat-boy. I know if it's a bad attack or not." Kyoko sounded rather peeved. Hara was tending to the weary Yukiko.

Tohru stepped in to quell possible fighting. "Should we call Hatori-san?"

The two conscious Juunishi girls looked up and then at each other. "I'm not sure if it's a good idea for the adults to know about us."

Hara was about to nod, when Shigure started having trouble clamping his hands over his mouth. Everyone turned to him, all either angry, worried, or frowning childishly. Kyoko marched up to Shigure with her very angry face on. "Shigure?" The angry face was temporarily mixed with a flirtatious tone as she approached him. "Shigure? Did you tell anyone about us?"

Shigure let his hands down from his mouth slightly, still trying to hold in a laugh. "Only Hatori and Ayame."

"YOU TOLD AYAME!" Kyoko smacked Shigure to the ground in anger and then pulled at her hair in her own frustration. "Dear God, We're doomed!"

"Ayame?" Yukiko's voice, though it was quiet and strained, broke through all the other sounds in the room. Hara was kneeling by her side as Yukiko turned to try to see the others. "Is Ayame here?"

Hara took the hand that Yukiko had freed from the covers. "No. Ayame's not here."

"Good," the recovering Yukiko wheezed. "I don't want her to see me like this."

Yuki looked down at the girl on the floor that was the spitting image of himself worried at the possibility that her sibling might be here. Yuki thought that he wouldn't have wanted Ayame there either, but because he was loud and obnoxious, not because he was worried about how he'd be viewed. Pondering this, Yuki began to wonder how different these girls' lives actually were from their own.

"Hey," Tohru cheered, "If we all want to stay here, how about we play a game or something."

"Like what?" Kyoko asked, now sitting on Shigure because she hated him so much.

Tohru thought for a moment. "How about Dai Hin Min?"

"Aw, man! I hate that game!" Kyoko protested.

"I'll play," Yuki stated calmly. Both Kyoko and Kyo threw themselves into the circle of players. "Deal me in!"

"The guy Yuki can't be that hard to beat, right?"

---

_An hour later_

--

"I can't win any of these games! Not even Old Maid."

"That's because you can't bluff to save your life."

"I could too bluff to save my life! I just didn't want to!"

_Sigh..._

Yukiko was sitting up now and playing the less stressful card games. The party learned very quickly that Kyoko and Kyo almost equally sucked at these sorts of games (Kyo a bit more than Kyoko).

"Forget this!" Kyo shouted finally. "Let's do a fighting game."

Hara looked up. "You have any first person shooters?"

"I prefer fantasy RPGs, myself."

"Not that kind!"

Shigure looked up from the pile of discarded cards. "Can we not wreck my house, please?"

"Let's do the 'throw balance' one, then."

Kyo blinked at the girl suggesting a game.

"It should be fine as long as you match up the right people." Kyoko grinned. "Hara, help me demonstrate."

"Oh no," Yukiko rested her forehead on her fingertips. "Kyo-san, perhaps using Hara is not a good idea."

"What? Kyo doesn't know what he's doing."

Kyo's ears stuck up at being underestimated. Kyoko and Hara stood side to side and locked their feet together. They took hands and backed the other foot up a step. "Now the point of the game is to knock the other person off balance by pulling or by using their force against them. Ya ready, Har-"

Kyoko turned back to face very stern, very mischievous eyes. "Ya gonna throw me, little girl?"

"Oh God, I forgot!"

Yukiko hid her face in shame and the Sohmas all had sweat drops. It's hard to forget about Black Haru and this girl somehow forgot about Black Hara. But, then again, it was Kyo's counterpart so it wasn't that surprising, just awkward.

"Yuki-chan. Help."

"Don't bring Yukiko between us. You wanted me to help you demonstrate so let's show 'em what you can do!" And with that, Hara clamped down her grip on Kyoko's hand and yanked. Kyoko was instantly transformed into a rag doll.

"Come on, Kyo-Kyo! Show me what cha got!"

"You're gonna rip out my arm, ya moron!"

Yuki sighed. "This is going to get worse before it gets better."

Tohru was completely flustered and frightened. "I don't think I want to play this game."

Momiji jumped and cheered. "It looks like they're having fun!"

Yukiko started to stand, her legs still shaky. "Hara's extremely competitive."

"Then why didn't she go black during the card game?"

"Card games and such are games of simple wit and strategy which she doesn't need to get excited for. She and Kyoko, though, have been fairly evenly matched physically since childhood. She won't stop until she wins and Kyoko has too much pride to quit."

Shigure grinned. "You can't pay for things like this! This has been an interesting day!" He was beat up and booted out of the room before he could say much else.

The battle continued. Hara sunk her nails into Kyoko's hand and completely lifted her off the ground. "Out you **go**!" Hara swung, but Kyoko had wrapped her entire body around Hara's arm in desperation. "Sohma Hatsuhara! Chill out!"

Hara raised the arm with Kyoko attached to it and Yukiko ran across the room.

"You can't hold on like that! That's-" there was the wind up, "-CHEATING!" In something that looked like Yukiko coming to Kyoko's rescue, Yukiko had crossed the room and opened the shoji screen door so Kyoko went catapulting into the yard without damaging the screen.

Hara was mad with triumph. "I beat 'er. Did you see? I threw her right out the door!" She faced the remaining party, her hand tensed as if it was bloodied. "Who's next?"

There was a flurry of movement to hide Tohru. Hara pushed past Kyo. "I already beat you." She got to Yuki and grinned malevolently. "I haven't beat the rat, yet." Yuki was looking at her rather stoically, as he normally did in battle, and was prepared to beat her down when Haru stepped in front of him. "Don't worry, Yuki. I'll protect you."

Yuki didn't look entirely thankful.

Hara laughed her evil laugh. "I don't want to fight over a girl."

Yuki's face darkened and Tohru's touch kept him from smacking Hara down, though that probably would've made things easier.

"Come on then, Lover boy. Don't hold back. Your princess needs saving. Yuki's probably the best ya got left, huh?"

The room held their breath. No one had told Hara about Rin or their break-up, but one could assume there was a similar character in Hara's group. There had been a tone in Hara's provocation that gave it a particular sting and Haru didn't like it. He kicked and Hara leaped backwards to dodge.

"Shut-up." Haru hissed, his iris's small and focused. "Ya talk about Yuki like that and I might just have to do something to ya."

Hara grinned. "Oo, what ya gonna do to me? Tough guy's so big he has to pick on girls."

"Little girl's so full of herself she beats up girls and goes to pick on guys."

There was a laugh. "Yuki still counts as a girl."

Yuki did not appreciate being the object fought over. The two black versions were throwing kicks and punches while throwing threats and disses.

Kyoko roared to life from the bushes. "HATSUHAR- uh oh." She appeared next to Yukiko, stuck with leaves and twigs, and found the two of the Ox zodiac battling to the death.

It was a sight that no one had ever seen and no one would ever see again: Black Haru vs. Black Hara. Both were on the offensive and both weren't going to back down.

Tohru pulled at Yuki and Kyo. "We have to stop them."

"I thought breaking up Black Haru and Kyo wasn't worth it. I'm not going in there."

"Yuki could always fake fainting."

Yuki ran a hand through his hair. "That would only stop one of them."

Kyoko was frozen in her spot watching the two wail on each other as the danced around the room in a violent blur of white and black. "If this wasn't terrible, this would be really cool."

Yukiko sighed and, on wobbly legs, walked toward the two. In a clash of moves that were too fast for almost anyone to see, Yukiko brought them both to the ground. Heaving harsh breaths in between the two combatants, Yukiko said in between gasps: "Hara, you should- apologize- to Haru-san and- Yuki-san and- every else."

The dust knocked up from the mats cleared and Hara and Haru sat up. Her cheek very red, Hara slid onto her knees and bowed to the ground. "I'm sorry, Haru-san." Haru, too, had sat up and bowed, apologizing to Hara. Then they simultaneously turned and bowed to the group watching and apologized. Tohru said it was all right, but Kyo and Yuki were still transfixed on Yukiko, who hadn't moved from her follow-through position.

Hara caught Yukiko as she collapsed, breathing heavily. Kyoko marched over to her. "You shouldn't have done that, ya damn rat."

"Well, maybe if I certain stupid cat wasn't being so stupid I wouldn't have had to."

Yukiko was exhausted anew and resting, but Yuki and Kyo had seen in that instant that Yukiko was much stronger than them and could've thrown both of them through the wall, no problem.

---------------

Yukiko and Hara left after dinner. Dinner was like a small party. Hara and Haru didn't apologize any more. They went back to making their comments like nothing had happened and the uneasiness faded quickly. Hara talked a bit more than Haru. She and Haru shared many stories of their mysterious adventures in strange places (a.k.a. them getting lost), some of which were very amusing. Hara, apparently, had found herself in the Imperial Palace and didn't know that that was where she had been until Yukiko identified it for her. They talked very casually about their lives, though all three of the girls had a way of talking that really didn't reveal a dang thing about their lives. Shigure returned and they talked about the house set-up.

"We should move out and get a house."

"You think we could pay for it if we pooled our allowances?"

"Do you think Momo would want in on it?"

"Nah, she likes home too much to move out. Besides, she hangs out with the middle-schoolers and they're not going anywhere."

They mentioned several different 'he's, but didn't explain any of them.

After dinner, there was a fair bit of repacking and cleaning up to do so they were all split into groups. Shigure retired (not really, but he pretended to). Momiji helped Tohru in the kitchen, Yuki helped Yukiko pack up, Haru helped Hara clean up and Kyoko was sitting outside on the deck when Kyo found her starring off into the dusk.

"What are you doing out here?"

She started slowly. "I don't remember much of my childhood. I can't help thinking that perhaps it didn't even happen."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Kyoko smirked at him, then turned back to the approaching darkness. "Which one of us is the dream? It all seems so real, but perhaps when whatever we're meant to do is all done, maybe we'll be the ones to vanish."

Kyo gave her a look like she was a crazy, psycho lady and he probably shouldn't have sat next to her. Kyoko laughed at him. It was a sad, regretful laugh. "I tried so hard to escape the Sohmas and all I did was run into another family. It can't just be coincidence, can it? Am I here to teach you something and then leave like a bad dream? Is it the other way around?"

Kyo wasn't sure what to say to her. He was still working on his people skills, but he pieced together some of what she felt and what he felt. "I don't really get what you're saying and I don't know why you're here. But you're real. This is real. Every word you say, every motion we see is somewhere in our memories. And even if that memory is erased, it can't erase that it happened."

He paused, but only for an instant. _No one can erase their past._ "No one can truly erase the effect one person has on another or the past."

Kyoko smiled a little and shifted closer. "Do you think that's why we're here, Kyo? To make an effect on someone else? Are we here to heal you?" Her hand was touching his hand and her face was very close to his, but he didn't blush. He looked at her for a moment and then turned his head and looked back out at the remaining light. "No."

Kyoko stopped, starring at the side of Kyo's face. She smiled and pulled back, shaking her head. "Thank you for that, Kyo-kun. You're right. We can't be here to heal you."

Kyo turned his head to see her turn hers to him, her eyes shut and smiling, brimmed with tears. "Because that's why Tohru's here."

She smiled brightly and tears streamed freely down her face. Perhaps she was less like Kyo than they originally thought. One might look at this and think that Kyoko was crying because she could never compare to Tohru, but that wasn't why she was crying at all.

"Thank you, Kyo-kun. Thank you for that." Kyoko slipped off the porch and looked up at Kyo from her spot on the ground, still smiling. "When I figure out why we were brought together, you'll be the first one I tell."

A voice from inside called for Kyoko again, and she ran around the outside of the house until she returned to the front door to send off her two cousins.

"Schools off tomorrow." Hara said, tossing her coat over her shoulder.

"We'll be back," Yukiko nodded.

"Don't come so often you blow my cover," Kyoko scowled.

"I make no promises for Hara." Yukiko sighed. Hara said nothing in her defense. She just bowed as Yukiko bowed and left. Tohru was behind Kyoko waving. "Nice to meet both of you!"

"Pleasure's all ours!" They shouted back at once, and they vanished into the trees. Haru and Momiji left right after them.

Tohru kept waving until they were all out of sight and smiled to Kyoko. "You have a fascinating family!"

Kyoko nodded. "As do you."

-------------------

_Note: where the word 'haru' means 'spring', the word 'hara' means 'field'. A clever name for one born of the cow, eh?_

_-kun is a masculine ending, where as –chan is a small child/young girl ending. –san has no gender. When ever I use –chan, I'm referring to the female, and when I use –kun, I'm referring to the male. _

_Yuki-chan Yukiko_

_Yuki-kun Yuki_

_Kyo-chan Kyoko_

_Kyo-kun Kyo_

_Kyo, by itself, will practically always be the normal Kyo (same with Yuki). If Yukiko says 'Kyo-san', she's probably referring to Kyoko. _

_When narrating, I'll use their least confusing name._


	4. Chapter 4

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

I don't own Fruits Basket, though I would have liked to have thought of it first… that would've been sweet.

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I'd like to thank dear Damki for finding me and reviewing all three of my chapters. I'm very glad you like my story and my notes and such. I'm gonna be needing more notes when I start introducing more of the characters.

Since I'm writing in the Fruits Basket style, I will be making jokes and comments that would only make sense if one knew Japanese. I will leave notes to explain them at the end of the chapters.

Keep reviewing me, please!

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I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's a little long, I think.

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**Chapter 4 - **

_He tilted the screen in his hand carelessly and when the servant arrived in the door to tell him that they were gone, he merely grinned._

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"Oh, good. You woke up."

Kyoko teetered into the kitchen, a hair-band in her mouth and her head cocked to the side as she tried to gather the bits of hair on the back of her neck. "Ornin'" she said between gritted teeth until she removed the band. "Breakfast with Kyo. This should be exciting."

Kyo growled at her and she ruffled his hair to tick him off more.

Tohru held up her hands to try to calm them, but Kyoko was amusing herself in a similar fashion as Shigure would.

"Hey, Kyoko-chan. Your cousins are coming back again today, right?"

Kyoko grumbled and sighed. "Probably. They'll probably keep coming back until I go back or they buy a house here."

"Then why don't we have a big dinner?"

Kyo looked up after trying to fix his hair. "I thought we had a big dinner last night."

Kyoko shoved her elbows out on the table, hitting Kyo's, as she ate her cereal. "There's a difference between a dinner for a lot of people and a big dinner, moron."

"Who ya calling a moron, moron!"

They were growling at each other when Yuki hit them both over the head with the cereal box. "You two are so loud."

"Good-morning, Yuki-kun!" Tohru chimed. Both Kyoko and Kyo mumbled something under their breath and returned to their food.

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"I got worried, you idiot! What'd ya do with your phone?"

"My mom confiscated mine when we got back so late." Hara sighed, readjusting her cowboy hat. Haru joined them when they went to meet the girls outside the subway station. It was a pleasant surprise when they found that the pairings were wearing identical outfits except for Hara's cowboy hat and Kyoko's cap.

"Yu- Bu- How-"

"Shigure told us what you were wearing. Now we're really twins."

Haru nodded in agreement. Hara's serious face just made the others feel awkward, except for Tohru who thought it was adorable.

"I should've know Shigure would do this," Kyo and Yuki fumed together.

Kyoko and Yukiko both sent side-glances at Hara. She had been the one most adamant about dressing up and had basically talked them into compliance. Hara's expression did not change.

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"A party? Like a festival?"

"Of course. Why not?"

"Now, that's an idea."

"You'll be good this time, right Hara?"

"Yes, ma'am."

They had dropped the girl's bags off at the house and went on to the store when they realized they didn't have enough food for a party.

"What should we eat for the party?"

"Watermelon."

"Alright, what else?"

"Watermelon."

"Ya gotta have more than just watermelon at a party."

"You do?"

"We'll need leeks, miso, and spring onion."

"STOP MAKING FUN OF ME!!"

"Fireworks would be fun."

"Well, you're not getting any."

"I love fireworks!"

"..."

"Fireworks it is."

"So we got watermelon, leeks, and fireworks."

"Sounds yummy."

That's basically what the conversation was like for the entirety of the walk down the street. They got a lot of glances for being such an attractive group of young people strolling down the sidewalk. (Well, that, and they were making a lot of noise.)

When they got to the small supermarket (which was really more of a convenience store), the girls parked the boys outside.

"Why do we gotta wait out here?"

"'Cause it's crowded in there and it's mostly woman. You wouldn't last a minute."

Kyo was about to shout something else when Kyoko plopped her cap on his head. "Here. Watch this for me."

Kyo fumed and ripped the cap off his head. Hara looked at her own hat and placed it on Haru's head before vanishing into the super market.

Haru turned to Yuki and Kyo with the cowboy hat on his head. "How do I look?"

"It completes the outfit," replied Yuki, surprised with himself. He wrapped his coat tighter and Kyo moaned on the corner. "This sucks. I hate waiting."

"Maybe you'd feel better if you put the hat on."

"Screw you."

Haru offered the cowboy hat but Kyo just looked at it with greater disgust and Haru placed it back upon his own head.

"So they're Sohmas too, right?"

"Yup."

"You'd think we'd have made a bigger deal about that."

"Yup."

"Do you think there's one of them for each one of us?"

"But the opposite sex."

"I can hardly stand one of them."

"Can you imagine if the two Akitos got together."

"And bred."

A shudder past over all of them and they zipped and buttoned their coats up. _It suddenly got very cold._

Then, without warning, they blacked out. Knocked out from behind and bound, the three boys were tossed into a tinted car that then casually drove away. The only sign that they had been on the small sidewalk at all was the Kyoko's cap abandoned on the street.

The girls strolled out of the store laughing amongst themselves, or at least, the ones that laughed were laughing amongst themselves. "We got the fish." Kyoko grinned."

"And the cheese." Yukiko smirked.

"And the grass."

"Ewwww!" the two other Sohma girls exclaimed at once. "You didn't actually do that, did you?"

"Haru-san asked for it."

"That was a joke, you idiot."

"It was? It's hard to know what to take him seriously."

Kyoko and Yukiko moaned. "It's hard to know when to take you seriously." They weren't sure if Hara was joking about the grass or not. "They sold grass in there?" Tohru asked. The girls chose not to answer.

"Hey, Kyo-chan, you lost your hat."

Kyoko stopped and looked down at the street. There was her cap, nicely stepped on. Tohru looked around, suddenly worried. "Where are Yuki-kun, Kyo-kun, and Haru-kun?"

"Perhaps they got tired of waiting and went home." Yukiko suggested.

"Or they thought of something better to do and lost track of time." Hara suggested.

Tohru clutched her bag. "Do you think something might have happened to them?"

Kyoko picked her cap up off the ground and brushed it off with her free hand. "Stupid Kyo dropped my hat."

Yukiko sighed and nudged Tohru since she had no free hands. "Come along, Tohru-chan. We'll deliver this and if they're not home then we shall look for them."

"Yes, don't worry, Tohru-chan. Yuki-chan can find them," Hara commented.

"You're coming too."

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I don't need to tell you that the three Sohma boys did not like waking up blindfolded with their hands tied behind their backs in a strange car.

"What the hell is going on!?" Kyo shouted when he realized he couldn't see.

"Is everyone alright?" Haru asked, flinging his head to keep the cowboy hat from falling over his blindfold.

"No, I'm not alright!" Kyo shouted, shifting angrily. "I've been kidnapped!"

"Yuki?" Haru asked, bending forward. "Yuki, are your alright?"

Yuki's response came in small gasps. "It's very hot."

Kyo stopped kicking. They were all still in winter coats and the car was very warm and dark.

Haru shifted. "Kyo, can you reach his coat?"

Kyo growled at the darkness. "Dang, it's not so easy when your hands are bound and the car's moving."

Just as Kyo said that, the car started to slow down. It turned and pulled off the road and came to a stop.

"Can you see where we are?"

"I can't see anything, ya moron! If I ever find out who did this I'm gonna bash his face in."

The car door opened and light and chilled air poured in. A fourth person entered the car. "You called, Kyo?" The voice, though the tone attempted friendly, was mischievous and sinister. The boys' blood began to run cold, and Yuki's breath became more staggered as the fourth character sat across from them in the back and shut the door again.

"Oh, Yuki. Are you warm? Here, let me help you with your coat." The fourth person reached out through the darkness and groped the buttons of Yuki's coat. Yuki's voice was strained. "A- Akito."

The master of the hands on Yuki's coat grinned as he loosed the buttons one by one. After the top few, the hands became harsher and the coat was thrown open. The voice of the fourth person became an infuriated growl as his hand spread across Yuki's flat chest. The hands moved to Kyo's coat and unzipped it with an angry flourish, and then Haru's.

"What?" The voice was more of a hiss from some dying creature than a human's. Their blindfolds were ripped off and reveal an extremely contorted face. Kyo's face replied with a look out for blood.

This was not their Akito. This was a male, and not fragile or sickly at all. He was young and strong, looking to be a bit older than their Akito, but his hair was still dark and in his face and his eyes were dark and sharp and greedy.

Akito grabbed Yuki by the collar and pulled him up to his face. "Who are you? How'd you know my name?"

Yuki's coat was hanging on his arms and his breathing was having trouble stabilizing in the heat and darkness.

Kyo's feline eyes glared through the darkness. "Are you the one that did this to us?"

Akito's head snapped in Kyo's direction, wide and angry. He dropped Yuki back into his seat and directed his attention at the orange-haired boy. Akito's eyes slowly transformed into keen, interested slits as he took Kyo's face with his hand and tilted it. "My, my, you really do look like them, don't you."

"ARE YOU THE ONE THAT DID THIS TO US!?" Kyo screamed into Akito's face. The man merely smirked devilishly and returned Kyo's head. "You're feisty, aren't you? Kyoko always was the fiery one." Akito's face was uncomfortably close to Kyo's. "She was always so much fun to play with."

Kyo's eyes flared with a burning hatred and he kicked violently. Akito went flying against the car window and they heard it break behind him.

"Is that what you did to them?" Kyo hollered in a blind rage. "Is that what drove them away?!"

Akito was slowly picking himself up from the window, small bits of tinted glass falling to the floor. There wasn't much room to stand in the car, but Kyo was angry and this wasn't his Akito, this Akito held nothing over him and he was prepared to destroy him. Haru, now that Kyo had leaped up from the seat, had shifted over to assist Yuki, which was proving difficult.

Akito brushed himself off, seeming to have almost enjoyed being thrown. "You know them, then. I guess we had the right location after all."

Kyo threw himself headlong at Akito who opened the door and sidestepped him. Kyo went tumbling to the ground, his face getting scratched up on the assfalt. Akito looked down at him with a sneer of pure disgust. "Rebind them and let's get going. And fix that window."

Kyo growled at Akito's feet as the young man stepped into another car. Kyo's feet were bound and he was rethrown back into the car.

"Way to back me up, Haru."

Haru looked at Kyo bound on the seat across from him and then back to Yuki who had fallen into a fitful sleep. "At least the window's open now."

It was sealed with a bag and tape a moment later.

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"Shigure-san? We're back." The girls stepped through the entrance and almost immediately they could tell that something wasn't right.

"Their shoes aren't here." Yukiko pointed out.

Tohru's anxiety increased ten-fold. "I hope they're alright."

"It's the Sohma guys. Of course they're alright."

"Umm." Hara had strolled into the house while the other girls had tried to consul Tohru, and in passing had stumbled by Shigure's room. "Are you alright, Sensei?"

Tohru ran to his room, quickly followed by Yukiko and Kyoko. Hara was helping Shigure sit up. His room had fallen into disarray again.

"It's alright. I've had worse." Shigure chuckled a bit, rubbing his head.

"I'll go get an icepack!" Tohru yelped and ran to the kitchen, returning a moment later with the first aid kit and a cold bottle.

"That's the last time I host refugees, eh?"

Kyoko stood in the door as Yukiko kneeled down to Shigure. "What happened?"

It was a small recount. Shigure had been at his desk when he heard people come in the front door. He went to his door to investigate and they knocked him out cold, though the bump on his head was from hitting the floor.

"They didn't wreck my house, did they?"

Kyoko leaned into the main house and glanced around. "The floor's a little dirty, but it doesn't look like anything was broken."

"Oh, good." Shigure allowed himself to fall back into Hara's lap and he smiled to himself. "I'm glad to have you girls here."

With a growl and a grumble they traded Hara's lap for a pillow and dragged Tohru out of the room. "You rest now." And they closed the door after them. Shigure sighed heavily.

Tohru was fretting outside the door. "But, Shigure-san."

"He'll be fine," Kyoko hissed. "He just needs to recollect himself."

Tohru shuddered a bit, looking back at Shigure's door. "Who do you think would've done something like that?"

Kyoko and Yukiko looked at each other. Hara was looking downward in thought. They brainstormed as they put away the groceries.

"You don't think the main house-"

"Impossible. They have no idea where we are."

"Maybe they put a tracking device on us."

"Akito doesn't like rice cookers. It's not possible for him to use a tracking device."

"Then how could they have found this place? You didn't keep the directions, did you?"

"Of course I didn't! The only one who had directions here was- Hara!"

Hara looked up from her bag. "Yo."

"Did you save those text messages with the directions I sent you?"

"Yup."

There was a painful pause as a silent moan rose up from Kyoko and Yukiko.

"Should I not have?"

"YOU IDIOT!" Kyoko barked.

Tohru blinked, severely confused. Yukiko was shaking her head with her hand against her forehead. "You see, Tohru-chan, Hara had the directions here on her cell-phone which was confiscated the other day."

Kyoko was hitting her head against a beam in the doorframe. "And they probably looked through her cell phone to see what she was doing and found the directions there."

Tohru looked up at the orange-haired girl hitting her head on the wall. "Then, Kyo, Haru and Yuki..."

Kyoko's head stopped centimeters from the wall. She turned to Tohru, Kyoko's eyes unnaturally wide. Tohru's eyes began to shine with tears under Kyoko's sightless glance. Kyoko spun to Yukiko who looked up from a shared glance with Hara. "You don't think that they- you don't think they could've taken- instead of-"

Yukiko broke eye contact. Tohru was looking back and forth at them. Kyoko sealed her eyes shut before her brow broke in anguish. "NO!" With a terrible swing, Kyoko clenched her fist and punched right through the beam of the kitchen doorframe, her arm through the hole.

"Kyoko!" Tohru's hair stuck out in all directions as she leaped off the ground in panic. "I'll get the first aid kit."

"No!" In Kyoko's anger she tried to pull her arm back, but her fist was preventing her. Splinters were sticking in her arm and Yukiko stood and stopped her from pulling. "Stop it. Open your fist. It's alright now."

Yukiko had coaxed Kyoko's hand out of the hole when Tohru returned with the first aid box. Yukiko sat her cousin down and started pulling out the splinters. Tohru was there was a warm cloth to wipe off the blood.

"Why did you have to find me?" Kyoko's voice was squeezed out of her anguish, her face hidden behind her hair as she looked down at the floor. "Why couldn't you have just left me alone?"

Yukiko glanced at her for a moment before moving onto antiseptic. "There was people back home that wanted you back."

"No one wants me."

Tohru nearly threw herself at her. "Don't say that!"

Yukiko was startled backwards, wrapping Kyoko's hand, as Kyoko was startled into looking up. "You have so many people that care about you right here. There are more people that wish they could be with you. They're right here with you because they didn't want you to be alone." Tohru's feelings began to jumble together. "People are happiest when they can share their own joy with others, when they can see them smile. They didn't want you to be alone. I don't want you to be alone."

Tohru's eyes were streaming. "Being alone can be scary and it can be so sad when you think no one cares for you, but they do. There's always someone, even if it's someone you don't know." Her voice began to quiet. "Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun had closed their hearts and I know they suffered because they kept everything they meant to say inside. It's all right to feel sadness. It's all right to say how you feel. It's alright to let someone love you, you just have to believe that someone can."

Kyoko looked up at the girl crying over her. Hara was looking at her too. Yukiko couldn't bring herself to look at her. Hara smiled at Yukiko when she could get her eye. "Sounds like Ru-kun, doesn't she?"

Kyoko's bandaged hand wiped away one of Tohru's tears. _Don't cry for me, not now, _she thought as she stood Tohru up. _Save them for the people who need you to love them._

Kyoko turned and marched out the kitchen to her bag in Tohru's room. "Yuki-chan? You know how to get to the main house from here?"

Yukiko was walking Tohru down the hall. "I've done it twice, haven't I?"

"Alright. Let's go get back Kyo-kun and Yuki-kun."

Tohru smiled a bit brighter, her cheeks still wet. "Yes."

"And Haru," she and Hara said, pulling her gloves on. Kyoko was digging through her bag for a belt. "Can you ride the subway in that, Tohru?"

Tohru giggled, blushing a bit.

It only took a minute for the girls to change. They went for darker colors. This was perhaps the one time Tohru would be seen in pants ever. This was one of the few times Yukiko ever wore pants, as well. They slipped on their shoes, tightened their laces and they were off.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Shigure chimed, hopping up on the step. The girls gave him varying degrees of attention. "Say cheese!" With a quick shot on a disposable camera, Shigure had captured this small moment that would never again be repeated.

"Can I see it?" Hara asked.

"It's a disposable."

"We're in Japan. Why do you have a disposable?"

"It's for moments like this!"

Kyoko turned back to the house. "Oh shoot, I forgot something. You go."

"Shouldn't we wait?"

"No, no. You guys go and get tickets or something. I'll be inside."

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The Sohma boys didn't know how long they had been bound in the back of the car. Time seemed to blur in the heat and the dark. It seemed like an eternity before the car slowed again. There were shadows passing by and they could hear a gates opening; several gates. It almost sounded like they were entering a compound. Perhaps they were.

The car came to a slow halt. Footsteps scuffled across gravel and the daylight blinded them when they opened the door. The boys were dragged out one by one, their bonds loosened. Then the cars drove off again and vanished behind more gates. Haru was picking Yuki off the ground when footsteps echoed across a wooden patio. "Good to see you're **all** back this time."

The boys turned and looked up into a pair of soft, brown eyes.

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"Aren't you going with them?" Shigure fingered his fan as he spotted Kyoko curled up in a darker corner of the house. Her eyes seemed glazed over and sightless. "No. I can't go back there. I swore I'd die before I went back there."

Shigure tilted his fan instead of his head. "So you're just going to sit there? What about what Tohru said about not suffering alone?"

Kyoko shifted so her back was to him and she hugged her knees tighter. "I don't want anyone to love me. It's safer that way."

"So you're scared?" Shigure hid part of his face with his fan, though Kyoko could not see it.

"No, it's just..." Her chin rested against her knees and her free hand found its way to her ankles. "I'm jaded... I hate it."

Shigure stared at the back of her head for a moment and then dropped his fan for maximum volume. "So staying here will heal you?"

"No. I'm not here to heal-" She straightened up, eyes wide, and she spun around to meet Shigure's devilish smirk. She couldn't help but smirk back. "You know I hate you, right?"

"Of course." He grinned for the last time. Kyoko scrambled to her feet and stumbled to the door in a half run.

"Where are you going now?"

She had her shoes on in two seconds flat and held her cap to her head as she bolted out the door.

"I'm going to get them, you moron!"

Shigure watched Kyoko vanish into the distance. He shook his head with a mischievous grin and closed the door behind her.

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_Did you notice we've met a new character each chapter? I did that on purpose! I'm so clever!_

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If you don't mind, would you review me?

I don't like when people command their readers to review so I'm politely asking my valued readers to leave a review since I often don't update until I know someone's read it i.e. leaves a review.


	5. Chapter 5

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

I don't own Fruits Basket… but I own Gender Switch Fruits Basket! I shall make costumes and you will all bow before me!

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Thank you, kind reviewers. Your time and your little touch of effort and praise shown by reviewing me brings me so much happiness. I'm very thankful.

I'd like to thank my new reviewer: **Yanielle**. I'm pleased that you're excited! I'm sorry that I lost you for a minute, but I'm going to try as hard as I can to keep it clear… which is going to become more and more difficult as I introduce more characters.

I'd also like to thank **Damki** for coming back to review me. You're too kind to me, and my most faithful reviewer. That chapter did have a whole range of emotions, didn't it? It was kind of strange… I hope you like this next one just as much. It should be happier.

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Since I'm writing in the Fruits Basket style, I will be making jokes and comments that would only make sense if one knew Japanese. I will leave notes to explain them at the end of the chapters.

Leave a comment in the review if there's still something you don't get and I'll fix it just for you.

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Yeah! The story has split in two! One side with the Sohma boys in the compound of the Sohma girls, and one with the Sohma girls leaving the home of the Sohma boys… EXCITING!

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**Chapter 5 -**

_He sat there by the window for longer than he had kept count, his hand through his hair, trying to decide how much truth he needed to conceal and how much he needed to create._

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The soft brown eyes seemed sad, but they smiled none-the-less. "After a week I was starting to get worried." The figure was slim, almost frail and not all that tall. The pants were snug, the polo shirt was light colored with a smartly folded collar, and the hair was straight and short, matching the eyes. It was Tohru, only it was a guy. The Sohma boys were dumbstruck. They didn't think a male version of Tohru was possible, but there he was.

Soft-soled shoes pattered down the stairs as the boy approached. "Woh, Yukiko-san, are you alright?" The boy had come close enough to hug before he realized that this was not Yukiko. He skid to a stop, looking them all over. He rubbed the back of his head. "This is almost embarrassing. You look so much like them. Here, let me help. Hey, you're bleeding!"

The young man turned to help Yuki when he realized that part of Kyo's face was scratched up. He half panicked. "Here. Bring him up here and I'll get the kit." The young man ran inside the house and Haru followed with Yuki supported on his shoulder. The boy ran out a minute later to help Yuki up the stairs and held the door for them. The house was very western styled. The outside had a porch patio and a swing bench, all wood-finished. Inside was very western as well. There was little natural light, but the lamps and ceiling lights cast a yellow glow onto a dark, ornate rugs, large couches and lamps, and wood finished coffee tables.

Haru laid Yuki on one of the couches and stripped off his coat, scarf, and shoes. The young man joined him immediately with a cold pack. He turned to Kyo for a moment. "Are you alright?"

Kyo, holding his wounded arm, looked solemn for a moment and then nodded in Yuki's direction. "Deal with him first."

Haru took the cold pack and balanced it on Yuki's forehead.

"Is he going to be alright?" the young man asked, squatting next to Haru. Haru adjusted Yuki's pillow. "He'll be fine now."

The boy stayed squatted there for a moment until Yuki's breath steadied, and then stood and pulled the first aid kit off the table where he had placed it down.

He rushed over to Kyo who was now trying to peel off his own jacket. The young man's eyes winced slightly, now being able to see Kyo's scratches properly. He handed him a warm cloth with antibiotic. "Here. I'll let you clean that off."

Kyo eyed the cloth suspiciously as well as the boy. He brought it to his face slowly and hissed angry when it made contact with the skin. The boy busied himself in the kit to keep himself from wincing again. Kyo continue to eye him as the boy began to pull out gauze. Haru stood up and inspected Kyo. "You missed a spot."

Kyo recoiled angrily when Haru tried to touch the cloth and the young man laughed a bit as young men do, rewrapping loose gauze. "I don't mean to pry, but are you related to the Sohma girls?"

Haru turned and blinked in his usual manner so Kyo answered since Yuki was currently unconscious. "We've crossed paths."

The young man's eyes lit up. "So you've seen them?"

Haru answered this time. "We were with them today."

"You were? Are they alright?"

"Alive and kicking."

"That's good to know," the brown-eyed boy sighed, smiling slightly like he couldn't help it. "Those girls. They seem to cause more trouble when they're gone than when they're here." His eyes were sad, but he laughed a bit and glanced out the front windows like he was expecting someone to be there.

Kyo and Haru saw this. Kyo removed the cloth, glanced down at the dried blood on it, and stuck it back on his face. "Who the heck are you?"

The young man instantly redirected his attention, clapping his gauze filled hands together in a small apologetic gesture. "Sorry. I haven't introduced myself, have I." He bowed with western zeal. "My name is Honda Tohru." He laughed a bit to hide his embarrassment. "But the girls all call me Ru."

"Ru?"

"Yeah," he rubbed the back of his head again. "No one seems to use full names here. It's all nicknames." Ru handed Kyo the gauze to cover his laugh. Haru took it and offered to wrap Kyo for him, all with gestures and facial expressions. Kyo looked very skeptical, but Haru got him before he could say anything. "Ow! That hurts, idiot!"

Ru handed Haru the disinfectant as he tried to hide another laugh. "So who are you guys?"

"Kyo, Haru, and Yuki." Haru said quickly, pointing to each of them.

Ru's eyes widened as he repeated the names, then he smiled brightly. "If this isn't the smallest world I've ever been in."

"You're telling me."

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"Where were you?"

"We couldn't find you on the subway."

"Oh, shut-up. I was fine."

Kyoko was standing next to a cement column in the train station; head down and defiant, holding both straps of her backpack in one hand over her shoulder.

"You should apologize to Tohru-chan. She was really worried."

Kyoko looked up, startled. Tohru was partially clinging to Yukiko's bag (Tohru's not use to traveling). When she realized that Kyoko was looking at her she started waving her arms frantically. "You don't need to apologize! I was just worried because I couldn't see you, but I'm short so it's all right!"

"Okay, already." Kyoko flattened her hat onto Tohru's head in an attempt to calm her. "No need to make a scene."

Tohru giggled, blushing when she saw Kyoko's Kyo-like flustered blush. Kyoko turned, subconsciously looking more intimidating as she tried to fight off the blush. "And you're not that short."

Tohru smiled, pulling the hat off her head. She actually looked at it for the first time and the past flashed through her mind as she realized why the cap had felt so familiar. She smiled softly.

"What is it now?" Kyoko whined, angrily. Tohru just giggled lightly, handing the hat back. "It's just that, that hat looks just like that one I found when I was kid. I got lost and a boy wearing that hat found me and led me home."

Tohru hadn't finished her gentle giggling by the time Kyoko had put the hat back on. "The colors are a little different, though."

"Maybe Kyoko got it at the same place."

"Yeah. Where'd you get it?"

"Shut-up, yous! It's none of your business!"

"That only makes it more suspicious."

"Just shut-up and get on the train!"

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"Oh, Yuki-san, you're awake."

The young Ru had wrapped himself in a coat and scarf and was sitting out the swing on the porch when Yuki came out, followed by Haru. Kyo was sitting on the couch inside next to the window so his head could lean out it.

"Ru-san. Might I ask where we are?"

Ru smiled the way most guys smiled, except this was a genuine one, like all his others. "You're at the Sohma Clubhouse. The one residence on the premises not made with brick or stone."

Yuki blinked at the added note. Looking up and looking out across the road and down it, he could see that Ru seemed to be absolutely right. Most of the visible houses were all brick, the large house behind the next wall looked like a medieval fortress.

Haru and Yuki both tried to ask something at once, so Haru backed down and let Yuki go first.

"Do you live here?"

"In the Clubhouse? Yes, I do."

"Do the girls that look like us live here?"

Ru laughed a bit. "The girls? They all but live here. No, they all have their own places. They visit here all the time, though. The head of the household would never dare let us live under the same roof. I don't know what he thinks I'd do to them that makes him distrust me so much."

The Sohma boys said nothing, but they were all thinking something. Kyo cut in, opening the window more and leaning out it to talk. "Do they always ditch you like this?"

Ru's foot slipped off the railing it was resting on when he started laughing, rocking the bench. "No. They hardly ever do. I'm practically their keeper. They always leave me with a guard when they feel like slipping off undetected, though."

"A guard?"

Ru ran a hand through his hair, pulling it back for a moment as he looked out down the road, still laughing. "I'm under the watchful eye of none other than Sohma Momo."

"Momo?"

"Momiji?"

"Oh, no," Ru shook his head, and waved a hand toward the leftward wall, which gate they had passed through in the car. "Momiji-san's her brother. He lives back a blockade, though Momo visits him a lot. Come to think of it," he grinned, "that's probably why she's not here now lurking in the bushes." He laughed a bit, peering over the railing to check for unseen teenage girls. "She always manages to startle me when she appears. Not that I'm complaining about a guard. I'm very thankful for their concern."

Haru also peered over the railing. "Hmm. I would like to meet this Momo-chan."

Kyo snapped back. "I would like to hit you over the head."

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The train was quiet and sky outside was hidden in overcast, but the snow along the ground was beginning to melt and as the train went, they could see patches of grass and flowers poking up through the white veil.

Tohru was sitting safely in between Yukiko and Hara. Kyoko was half sitting on the arm rest next to them with her hat pulled over her eyes, though she wasn't sleeping and didn't plan on sleeping either.

"It feels like," Hara whispered, her vision lost beyond the train window, "that it's been winter for such a very long time."

"But look at all the green," Tohru smiled. "No matter how cold it is now, spring will always come without fail. Look. It almost looks like we're bringing the spring with us." She giggled at her reflection in the window. "It's like it's following us."

Yukiko looked out through the glass, her pale reflection looked more like a ghost peering sadly at her through the window. "Spring does not follow us, Tohru-chan. It follows you."

There was a silence and Tohru wasn't sure what to say. Kyoko whispered a question from under the brim of her cap. "If you're here to bring the spring, Tohru-chan, then what are **we** here for?"

Hara's head appeared from behind Tohru's. "To rescue Kyo-kun, Yuki-kun, and Haru-kun."

"What? Did you forget?"

"Shut-up, I knew that!"

"You don't need to shout, you stupid cat."

"Don't call me a stupid cat, ya damn rat!"

Tohru couldn't help but laugh a bit, but in her mind her thoughts were reeling. Their hearts, all of theirs, were just as fragile and delicate as she thought Yuki's and Kyo's to be. They were trying to say something; trying to find something, perhaps. But those small voices that Tohru knew they had weren't growing any louder or clearer for her. The walls: the walls around their hearts, the same walls that muffled their voices, were different than Yuki's and Kyo's. She would have to find a different way to breach them, if she could.

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Note: In the first chapter, the cap that Kyoko's wearing is said to be one that Tohru "almost recognized". In this chapter I explain why it seemed so familiar.

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Yeah! 5 chapters down and now we've met this Ru/Honda that I mentioned before. It's so hard to think of how a male Tohru would act so I had to keep thinking back to a friend of mine when I got stuck.

Now, remember, these characters are just the original characters with a gender switch, they lived their entire lives as a different gender so their personalities, etc. may be a little different, but not a lot, 'cause we love the original people's personalities. _Teehee_

_---_

It's gonna get soooo good! Thank you for reading. You're so kind.

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Hey, reviewers! Bug me about my pictures of the secret Sohmas 'cause I got line art for three of them right now (almost 4) and sketches of… six… I think… five and half 'cause one is terrible. I've also got basic plans for 11 of them. I wanted to draw plans for all of them, but I ran out of room so the last three might take a while to be drawn… but if you bug me about them I might feel motivated to draw them sooner!


	6. Chapter 6

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

I don't own Fruits Basket… OH HOW I WISH I DID!

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Thank you, kind reviewers. Your time and your little touch of effort and praise shown by reviewing me brings me so much happiness. I'm very thankful.

I got FOUR reviews this time! Yeah! You guys **ROCK!!!**

**JennyKim319**: You came back! YEAH! It's nice to have you back! Thank you for poking me! I shall get on those pics. I got the 14th Fruits Basket too so I know what you're talking about with the names. I came up with most of them before that came out, though… You guys don't mind, right?

**Yanielle**: Hold onto your hat, 'cause you do meet Momo in this one! I actually don't know if you ever meet Momiji. I've only just started writing the 8th chapter at this point so… I don't know… but I'll try, just for you.

**Damki**: Your comments are always welcome. Please keep bugging me about the pictures. I really want to finish them too. Hmm… I didn't realize I was even using subtlety with the emotions… I just write like I read. Cool!

**KoriOkamiNeko**: Welcome, newcomer! I'm so happy you like it! I like it too! I love that 'you know I hate you' thing too. I'm very pleased that I came up with it. I'll have to use that again somewhere random!

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**warning:** Since I'm writing in the Fruits Basket style, I will be making jokes and comments that would only make sense if one knew Japanese. I will leave notes to explain them at the end of the chapters.

Leave a comment in the review if there's still something you don't get and I'll fix it just for you.

**------**

**update:** The three Sohma girls (Kyoko, Yukiko, and Hatsuhara) and Tohru are all on the train heading toward the Secret Sohma's compound to save the guys.

The three Sohma boys (Kyo, Yuki, and Hatsuharu) and Ru are all sitting on the porch of the Secret Sohma Clubhouse (well… Kyo's leaning out the window, so he's kind of outside…) ENJOY!

**------**

**Chapter 6 -**

_Their heads up, their ears keen, they listened to all that he proposed. And when he was done, and already had his two volunteers, they refused to let them go alone._

_---------------------------------------------_

"Hey, did she fall sleep?"

"Judging by the closed eyes and the deep breathing, I'd say yes."

Kyoko scowled at her. "Then I guess she's not hungry then."

Kyoko waved off the girl with the cart, only to watch her be cornered by a Caucasian that couldn't fit past her. _These tourists are so fat._

"So do have a plan for how we're going to rescue the boys?"

Hara appeared from behind Tohru again. "You mean we're not just going to charge in there blindly?"

Yukiko sighed, falling back against her seat. "Let's just wait until Tohru wakes up."

Kyoko raised an eyebrow at her and then pulled her cap back over her eyes.

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"Yo, Ru." It was Haru's turn to ask his question. "Why are the houses built like that? It's kind of ugly."

Ru nodded, agreeing it looked strange. "A while back, I hear, before I got here, this place was a breath-taking example of traditional architecture. Shoji screens, original paintings, oil lamps, nightingale floors, the works."

"What happened?"

"One night it all burned down. There was a big cover-up about it, and the head of the house built all this." He spread his arms to show everything. "This all happened in my lifetime, too. Kyoko's still got burns from it."

"She does?"

"Yes. On her legs. They're better than they were before, but they still bother her. She won't go anywhere near the Kotatsu (heated table)." Ru laughed to himself, some memory of the girl making him content. Yuki remembered that when he first met Kyoko, she had not put her legs under the table, but stretched them out on the tatami.

Ru continued, his face still bright. "You'd have to chain her down to see them, though. She probably wouldn't like me telling you about them." He rubbed the back of his head, picturing the beating he was going to get. "She doesn't like talking about the fire at all. She'll say she doesn't remember much of it and leave the room."

Kyo leaned his arms on the windowsill. _Wasn't there something else she didn't remember much of?_

Ru put a foot back up on the railing and began to swing himself gently, still smiling like he couldn't help it. "Those girls. I keep thinking they're trying to tell me something, but I think I'm just missing the hints." He smiled, a little embarrassed, but not really, because he's not the type to ever truly be embarrassed. Perhaps the feeling was a slightly awkward one since he probably shouldn't have been telling these random guys about the girls that tried to confide in him.

He didn't have the opportunity to apologize because a very loud, very pink blur found its way to the spot next to him.

"RU-RU!"

Ru's scarf almost launched itself off his neck as he fell off the swinging bench in fright. Kyo practically fell out the window and Yuki's hair became quite frazzled. Haru was left unscathed.

Sitting, giggling hysterically on the empty swing-bench, was a blond-haired girl. In the small instances when she looked down to see Ru on the ground before she started giggling again, one could see big, innocent, brown eyes. She hugged her sides as she giggled, her shoulder length hair seeming messy when she moved and would then fall neatly back into place when she sat up again.

"Ru-Ru-kun! Why didn't you tell me everyone was back? Someone was looking for Kyon-Kichi! Where is Kyo-Kyo?" The giggling blond girl, decked out in pink, baby blue, and frills, turned around on her bench to see Kyo 3/4s out the window, his face having collided into the porch when his feet got caught on the sill.

"Silly, Kyo-Kyo! What are you doing on the floor? Are you looking for Tohru-kun, 'cause I think he's on the floor too"?

Kyo grumbled at the annoyingly high-pitched voice as Ru began to stand, rubbing his head. "Who's looking for Kyoko, Momo-chan?"

The ears on her large bunny hood flopped to the side. "Oh, right! I'll be right back!" And the bouncy, cheerful, rabbit girl hopped off the bench, bounced down the stairs and scurried down the road.

Ru got behind the bench and gave Kyo a hand up. "Sorry about that."

"So that was Momo, huh?" Haru asked, watching the kicked up dust blow away.

"Yes. That's Momo-chan. She can be a handful, but she's great to be around. She just exerts positive energy, doesn't she?" Ru's smile and bright and cheerful, which contrasted with the large bump that had formed on his head. Kyo and Yuki sighed heavily, sitting down on the railing where they were. Haru remained unscathed.

"So who do you think Momo's telling?" Kyo asked grumpily, rolling his arm in the socket to loosen it up again after his dive out the window.

"Um," a small sweat drop formed over Ru's head. "You don't happen to know any one who'd have a nickname like 'Kagi', do you?"

The panic didn't have time to spread across Kyo's face before his name was hollered across a large distance, and the owner of that voice had covered that distance. "Kyo-chan!"

A tall, dark brown-haired and dark brown-eyed boy was upon him in an instant's time, his fist raised. Ru was not fast enough to stop him, but then again, neither was Kyo. "I MISSED YOU!"

With a mighty swing, Kyo was sent flying off the railing, crash-landing into the shrubs and bushes. The young man was leaping over the railing shouting after him. "You think you can just vanish for a week and not have me get worried sick?"

The tall boy had picked Kyo up by the ankle when Ru was heard over him. "Kagi-san!"

The tall boy stopped and turned to him. "Yeah, Ru-kun?"

Ru was sweating and red with worry. "That's not Kyoko-san."

The boy blinked at Ru, and then lifted Kyo higher, still holding him by the ankle. "Your hair's shorter."

Kyo, after having suffered some bad scratches, falling out the window and being whacked off a railing into bushes, was thoroughly tired out. His shirt fell up to reveal that he definitely wasn't the healthily busted Kyoko. The tall boy dropped him immediately. Momo was there to giggle over him. "It's not Kyo-Kyo at all! It's a boy!"

The tall boy leaned over Kyo as the orange-haired boy began to slowly pick himself up again. "Sheez, Kyoko-chan. What the hell d'you do to yourself?"

"I'M NOT KYOKO, DAMMIT!!"

---

"Sorry, chum. Guess I just got excited."

The battered and bruised Kyo was being tended to, inside the house again, by Haru and Ru. The tall, dark-brown haired boy, called Kagi, was sitting next to Momo on the couch across from the one where Yuki was sitting. He had more of the build of a fighter than Kagura did.

Kyo hissed at Kagi. "Do you normally throw Kyoko to the ground?"

Kagi laughed, sounding flattered. "Aw, that girl loves a bit of grappling."

Kyo slouched and looked to the side. _Does she or do you?_

"So why you three guys hanging around here, anyway?"

"They thought we were Kyoko, Yukiko and Hatsuhara."

Momo jumped over Yuki, bouncing between him, Kyo and Haru. "Don't they look so much like them? It's them but they're guys! And look!" Momo leaped into Yuki's lap and threw her arms around him. "I can hug them too! Are you sure you're not them?"

Ru watched Momo's display quite puzzled. He turned to Kyo who he was finishing patching up. "You're from the zodiac?"

"Of course we are!" Kyo barked! "Do you think I hang out with these guys 'cause they're my friends!?"

Yuki could've very easily struck Kyo down for his insolence, but he felt somewhat bad for him after his third injury. He slid Momo off his lap. "Yes. The Sohma family's been processed by vengeful spirits that correspond with the Chinese zodiac for hundreds of years."

"You're Sohmas too?" Kagi asked, disbelieving.

"Yes. But we never knew there was another set of Juunishi."

Kagi laughed a bit, his arms crossed smartly. "You're right to say that. With the way we've lived, you might as well call us the Secret Sohmas."

"Secret Sohmas!" Momo echoed cheerfully.

"But how?" Yuki pondered aloud. "How is that possible?"

Kagi rolled and cracked his neck. "I don't really know. We could always try asking one of the Mabudachi Trio."

Kyo growled over his stinging face as he flung himself over the back of the couch and onto a cushion (he had been standing behind the coach). "I'd rather find someone who could sneak us out, not tell us what the heck **you**'re doing here!"

"Wait," Yuki held an arm in front of Kyo to shut him up. "The Mabudachi Trio?"

Yuki's suspicions were confirmed when the door swung open wildly behind them and a rich, loud, and annoyingly confident voice filled the room. "Where's Yun-Yun! Where's my little akachan! I know she's here! I will not rest until I have my imoto-chan in my arms!"

Yuki didn't need to turn around for his eye to start twitching, or for Kyo's. _Oh God!_

_-----------------------------_

_-----------------------------_

"We're there?"

The train finally halted at a small station and there was a desperate scramble to get off and on. Tohru was, regrettably, used as a shield during this single minute time gap. All that was left was a few subway trips.

"Thank God! I thought that train was driving us off a cliff or something."

"That's a stupid thing to think."

"I wasn't serious, you damn rat!"

The petty argument actually managed to continue like that for the entire subway ride. It wasn't that pleasant to listen to, but it got the other users of the subway to keep their distance. Hara comforted Tohru as the two other girls played cat and mouse.

One cannot guess when or where the argument might've ended had there not been a small gathering of people waiting for them by their car when the girls left the station.

"Wow! They really do look like them!"

"They look like them!"

"Oh, my, what a great number of words and feelings fill me at this moment."

"Your gift for words is limitless, dear one."

"Why am I here?"

Kyoko didn't need to look up to know who was waiting for them, or for her eye to start twitching. Yukiko didn't need to either. "Oh God!"

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note: The loud voice that bursts into the clubhouse half way through the chapter says several things in Japanese: 'akachan' means 'baby' (literally: little red), and 'imoto-chan' means 'little sister' (it's normally imoto-san, but the –chan emphasizes the cute.)

_name note: 'Kagi' actually means 'key'… translations of upcoming names will mean more._

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AHAHAHAA! I love the ending to that chapter! It makes me happy! Oh God, it's amazing! The next chapter's gonna get a little hectic and it's probably not gonna get any easier after that.

Make sure you read this chapter carefully. There are some key plot points in there that will be brought up again!

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Thank you for reading and if you have the time, I would appreciate it if you reviewed my chapter. Thank you again.


	7. Chapter 7

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

I don't own Fruits Baskets. I would've burst into your house laughing victoriously is I did.

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Thank you, kind reviewers. Your time and your little touch of effort and praise shown by reviewing me brings me so much happiness. I'm very thankful.

Three reviews and one's a newcomer! YEAH!!!

**JennyKim319**: I'm so glad that Kagi made you think of Kagura! I'm worried about a few of the names, but I think it'll be all right. I hope you like the other names I came up with!

**KoriOkamiNeko**: I loved the scene between Kagi and Kyo too! It worked out better than I remembered. I hope you love my Mabudachi Trio just as much!

**Shiaru**: Welcome, newcomer! Make sure you read the other 6 chapters too! They're all amazing! I didn't really plan this to be a sequel to Fruits Basket. It's more of a self-contained 10-part episode. I wouldn't mind owning it, though. Just as long as I don't have to draw it. I like the art as it is.

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**warning:** Since I'm writing in the Fruits Basket style, I will be making jokes and comments that would only make sense if one knew Japanese. I will leave notes to explain them at the end of the chapters.

Leave a comment in the review if there's still something you don't get and I'll fix it just for you.

**------**

**update:** The three Sohma girls (Kyoko, Yukiko, and Hatsuhara) and Tohru just got off the subway and were headed to save the guys when they ran into an interesting collection of people.

The three Sohma boys (Kyo, Yuki, and Hatsuharu), Ru, Kagi and Momo, are all peacefully chatting inside the Secret Sohma Club house when someone bursts in through the door.

ENJOY!

**------**

**Chapter 7 -**

_He fumed in his darkness, his anger rippling through the heat. They worried he would work himself sick before the girls were found. Then a single thought struck him and he sat back with a cold grin._

_--------------------------------------------------_

_-----------------------------------_

Yuki had nowhere to run, and had no time to run if he had, before slender arms wrapped around his neck. "Aw, there you are, my sweet Yukiko-imoto. I was so worried that you had run away too and would never see me again!"

The loud woman who had entered the room with a great noise laughed at herself. "I dare say, I was almost afraid something immodest would happen to you on those dreadful subways. If anything happened to you, I don't know what I-" The woman turned Yuki's head and her words immediately stopped. The eyes Yuki met were majestic and golden and masterfully painted, though the eyelashes were long and thick enough naturally to not need it. They were very wide eyes, wider than Yuki had ever seen his elder brother's. The painted lips parted. "Oh my."

The woman stepped gracefully around the couch where Yuki sat. She was tall for a girl, like most of the members of this new Sohma household. Her hair was long and silver, bangs neatly kept. She was still thickly wrapped in scarves and a fur coat when she sat quickly in the seat Momo had abandoned when the woman had entered. This woman that was to be Ayame's twin took Yuki's face between both her hands and looked into the misty gray eyes she found there. "You're not Yukiko-imoto."

Her eyes were sharp, created for wit, satire, and sarcasm. It seemed almost impossible to Yuki that such eyes could sink into such despair. The woman turned her head away, still holding Yuki's face, to hide her tears. Something caught in Yuki's throat. This Ayame looked as if she truly cared for her younger sibling. Ayame sighed loudly as she silently wailed, "How are we suppose to have any sisterly-bonding when you're a boy."

Whatever was caught in Yuki's throat vanished.

"I can't give my hand-me-downs to a boy. Oh, akachan, how could you do this to me? And after I made you so many magnificent dresses."

Yuki's face darkened and his fists shook violently, trying to keep from exploding. Ru's little laugh brought them back. He was trying to keep himself from laughing, but it looked like whatever he was doing to stop himself wasn't working. He waved his hands in front of himself. "Yukiko-san wouldn't do anything like that."

Momo hopped over to the Ayame woman, smiling brightly. "He's a boy! His name's Yuki-kun!"

"So he is." The Ayame woman seemed bored already and was stripping off her scarves and coat and handing them to Ru who hurried to the couch to take them from her. "And I'll have some tea, too, Ru-kun."

Ru smiled in his own way and Yuki began to like this female Ayame less and less. Everything she said seemed so loud to him.

The Ayame woman sat upright and prettily on the couch that barely sank beneath her weight. She flipped her hair to the side and caught Kyo in her golden sight. "Oh! There is one like Kyonkichi too! Are you her lover?"

Kyo was angry and flustered all at the same time. "Hell no!"

"You should be lovers. You're so much alike. Then I could take Ru-kun for my own."

The Sohma boys had just met Ru that day, and just met this Ayame-woman a few minutes ago (if her barging in would count as meeting), but they were both totally against her getting anywhere near Ru.

The Ayame woman fluttered her eyelashes in flirtatious confidence. "But surely you are not repulsed by an older woman such as myself, my dear Ru-kun?"

Ru was placing the tea upon the table, his emotions caught between trying to not be rude and not agreeing. "Of course I'm not repulsed, Ayame-san, but I-"

Ayame's hand shot out to the tray Ru was holding, "Then it's settled!"

A voice from the doorway stopped Ayame from seizing Ru and dragging him out the door. "Could it be, my precious one, that you would love that boy more than me?"

Haru was watching this in his own amused way, but the other two Sohma boys were approaching insanity, for the voice in the door was a feminine one, taking on something of an Arthurian accent despite its childish tone. They did not need to turn around to know this one anymore than they hadn't needed to turn around to know Ayame.

Ayame turned in exaggerated shock and surprise. "My dear, Shigeru-chan, never would I dare replace you with any other on this Earth."

Ru was relieved to have been saved and Momo cheerfully sat him down on the couch next to Kagi. Haru resigned himself to the chair that Kyo had been sitting in before he had fallen out the window in the previous chapter.

"Besides," finished the woman in the doorway, "Torhu-kun's **my** man-slave."

_Dear God_, Yuki and Kyo thought together. _That's so much worse than 'housewife'._

"I suppose if he pleases you so much, my dear Shigen-chan, then I shall allow you a lover."

_I didn't think_, the two boys thought again, _that there was a way to make this scenario any more disturbing._

Ru was past the point where he had any chance of defending himself. He was at the mercy of Ayame's and Shigeru's chatter. Momo spoke for him, though she was laughing. "Ru's blushing! Yes, he is!"

Ru had slumped on the couch, utterly defeated when his frantic waving and blushing had failed. Kagi shook his head, a smile sneaking into his disciplining frown. "Now, now, Shigeru-san, you are a guest in Ru-kun's house. Be nice."

"Aww," the woman in the door sighed, "You're no fun, Kagiru-kun."

"Don't worry, Shigen-chan. Even if the whole world was against you, I would stay by you're side."

Yuki felt like he could retch and Kyo didn't feel much better. Haru was fixing Hara's cowboy hat for it had gotten slightly crushed in the car and he had been keeping such close attention to Yuki and the wounded Kyo that he hadn't had the chance to fix it.

The woman in the door who was Shigure's counter-part deposited her coat and found a snug seat in between Yuki and Kyo. "Wow, what beautiful young boys."

The woman's hair was brown, dark and shiny, her eyes matching almost perfectly. Her bangs were long and parted in the middle. The rest of the hair fell about shoulder length and either swept around her neck or bobbed out. Her eyes looked studious, though her smile broke the illusion. The aura around her felt as if the news of the their arrival had come while she was still sleeping and she had shot out of bed in a desperate attempt to follow Ayame. Her choice of cloths was formal, despite the fact, with a blouse and dark skirt and stockings. A small glasses' case stuck out of her pocket. They had stumbled upon Shigure's long lost twin sister.

Haru addressed her politely, but Yuki and Kyo were spent. Despite themselves, they found themselves praying that the female Hatori would show up and take the two women away.

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"Impossible! How did they find us?"

"I called Shigure when you didn't show up on the subway. He offered to help, but he didn't say he would bring the whole family."

"AND YOU BELIEVED HIM!"

"Don't yell at Yuki-chan."

Kyoko was exploding at Yukiko when catching sight of the half of the Sohma family that had come to greet them when they got off the subway.

"I didn't ask him to help, I simply told him the stops we were making."

Hara glanced over at Shigure, "Very clever of sensei to find us here."

Kyoko sighed, glancing over as well. "Ten bucks that their Hato-san figured it out for them."

Kagura and Momiji ran over to them. Momiji would've flung himself at Tohru had Kyoko not stopped him. "Tohru! Tohru! We've come to help you."

"Yes, we're going to rescue my Kyo-Kyo." Kagura cried. Kyoko looked like she was going to fall over and die. "Listen now, girly. You can't just-"

Kagura's face was flooded with intimidating rage as she stood over Kyoko (even though Kyoko was taller than her). "You think I'm just going to let my Kyo-Kyo be kid-napped?" Kyoko shrunk back and decided not to talk to Kagura anymore. "But Momij-"

The small, excited boy pulled at Tohru's hand. "I'm here to help Tohru so she won't be scared."

Kyoko was going to argue, but seeing that Tohru actually looked slightly relieved to have Momiji hanging off her, she didn't say anything. Kyoko supposed that herself and the two other girls were too intense for Tohru to handle alone.

Kyoko was watching Tohru's small smile of relief with Momiji clinging to her and Kagura consoling her, so that she didn't even realize when Ayame stole up to them and took up Yukiko until she had been nearly knocked off her feet.

"Oh! It's a beautiful, young she-Yuki! You must visit my shop where I can fit you with the most magnificent pieces you've ever seen!"

Yukiko frowned down on him, as the he-Yuki would've, until Tohru smiled brightly up at Ayame. "You've come to rescue your brother, Ayame-san?"

"But, of course, my dear Tohru-chan! If my dearest little brother is in trouble, I have sworn to forever come to his aid; to eternally offer my assistance even if he slaps my hand away."

Tohru's eyes were sparkling with Ayame's determined speech, so touched with Ayame's words of saving his brother that she didn't hear his comment to Shigure and Hatori about how he also wished to meet this female version of himself and his dear Shigure and Hatori.

Kyoko sighed, her pack suddenly seeming much heavier than it really was. _I swore I'd die before I went back, but it seems I'm going to die before I even get that far."_

---

"So, what's the plan?"

Yukiko, Kyoko, Hara, Tohru, Momiji, Kagura, Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori all circled up around a little map Yukiko was drawing with a stick in a patch of dirt. Her map of the Sohma girl's household looked like sets of squares inside bigger squares, except they all overlapped on one side. That one side where they all overlapped, Yukiko said, was Akito's gate. Akito, and a small collection of others, lived within the inner most square. The Juunishi lived within the next square out, the younger ones living in the square outside that. The larger and farther from Akito's square, the thinner the blood of the Sohma family. The outer most square, Yukiko said, didn't have it's own gate and its residents were free to come and go as they pleased.

Their three rescuies, they said, would most likely be found either within Akito's own residence or in the next section from him being held with the rest of the Juunishi.

"Getting through the first few blockades will be easy, but since Kyoko ran away," Yukiko sent the orange-haired girl a very icy glare, "the inner sections all have people watching them. They'll let us through, but not without first informing Akito."

"Once Akito knows we're there, " Kyoko informed them, "there's little hope we'll all get out again."

There was a quiet pause as they absorbed this information, then Ayame leapt up with a great display of confidence. "Let us waste no time in our greatest of quests! Quick! To the car! I shall drive us there!"

_Oh God..._

--

While seats were being argued, Hara and Yukiko approached Kyoko.

"We all don't need to get out. Just the ones that don't belong there need to get out." Hara stated.

"If Akito requests it, Kyoko-san, will you stay behind so the others can go free?"

Kyoko looked up at the sky, as if it would be her last time, and then bowed her head so her cap hid her eyes. "I should've known there'd never be any freedom for someone like me."

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"And that's when the car brought you here, right?"

After a bit of poking and unnecessary interrogation, the three Sohma boys told their story of how they originally met Kyoko, Yukiko, and Hatsuhara and how they ended up at the Secret Sohma's Clubhouse.

Shigeru-san, sometimes called Shigen-chan, wept openly and in an unsympathetically exaggerated manner. "Oh, you poor boys! How could anything so terrible befall such handsome high school boys?"

Kyo cringed as the miss Shigeru hung off him. "Ow, sheez, that hurts!"

"Is it still bothering you?" Ru made a move to stand, gesturing that he spoke of the bandages on Kyo's face, neck, and shoulder. The tone of voice and gesture of concern was enough to conjure little shojo sparkles to surround Ru's expression of worry. For a moment, it seemed that Tohru was with him and Kyo flushed slightly. "No, it's fine."

"The great Kyo-kyo is injured!" Shigeru spouted in shock.

Aaya took Yuki's hand. "You are not injured are you, you who looks so much like my wonderful Yukiko-imoto?"

"I'm not! I'm fine!" Yuki pulled back in horror, but had nowhere further on the couch to move than into Shigure's twin.

Ru still looked concerned and Kagi looked up at the Kyo that looked so much like his own dear lady-friend. "Perhaps Hitori-san should look at it."

"Aw, yes! Hato-san must look at it! I will call her."

"Please don't."

"Her name's Hitori and you call her Hato?"

"Well, I can't very well call her Hito-san, can I?"

Ru's voice broke through the arguing and conversation. "So, where are the girls now?"

They all stopped and looked over at the three Sohma boys. The three mentally throttled boys cast glances at each other.

"Think they might've figured out what happened?"

"Of course they did!" Both Kagi and Aaya leapt from their seats.

"My Yukiko will always be able to find her way back to me. We are bound together with blood and sisterly companionship."

"Kyoko is not that dense! She'd be the first one to figure out what happened!"

Haru had finished fixing the hat and placed it again upon his head. "Kyo and Yuki have very confident fans."

"Shut-up!"

The energetic and adorable Momo hopped up from her own seat and approached Haru with unrivaled excitement. "Do you think that they're coming here to save you?"

Kagi's attention was dragged to Haru. "Yes! Are they?"

Haru's blank expression was rather adorable, and he closed his eyes and replied with another rather adorable, rather hopeful expression and a little smile. "I think that they are."

"Don't worry, young Kagiru, I shall call Yukiko and she shall answer her phone without fail!" Aaya's cell phone came out of nowhere. Apparently she had Yukiko's number under a voice-activated listing. This made the boys less confident that Yukiko would pick up, since Aaya seemed to type to call her at any possible time.

"Hmm, it's busy!"

Kagi pulled out his phone. "Let me try calling Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko's phone was busy. The two of them attempted over and over again to try to get through to their appointed girl, but each time it came up busy.

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"Did you get through to Kagiru-san?"

"No. I keep getting the busy signal."

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There was much argument about wrong numbers and exchanging numbers and who the girls could be calling, and the Sohma boys fretted that no one considered that perhaps the girls were trying to call them. After who knows how long the batter went on, Aaya proclaimed her anguish to the world and resolved that she'd call Hato-san.

There were some sighs and some stifled laughs as Aaya called into her phone. When it started to ring, though, a default jingle broke through the air right outside their door. Aaya didn't seem to notice. "Hato-san? Where are you?"

"I'm outside the door."

The woman that entered the door was the tallest so far. Her hair was dark, darker than Yuki's or Shigeru's. She was dressed in a long black coat with the belt tied at the waist, a blue and purple scarf hid all sight of what she was wearing underneath, though they could see black dress slacks loose enough to be confused as a skirt. Her eyes were a deep violet, deeper and richer than even Hatori's who she resembled so much. Her hair was slicked professionally back, though it still fell loose and threatened to hide both narrowed eyes.

"Hato-san!" Aaya cried happily into her phone.

The woman, Hitori, called Hato, frowned slightly at Aaya and Shigeru, possibly also even at Kagi and Momo. It was hard to tell. "What are you still doing here? Didn't Yukiko and Kyoko-san call you?"

"We were trying to call them!"

Hitori only sighed, as if she should've expected as much. "They called me."

"They did!? Who did? Was it Yukiko-san or Kyoko-san?"

Hitori didn't bother to answer, but stayed in the door. "Come. We have to make the gates ready for them so Akito doesn't discover them."

They all quickly got out of their seats. "Shouldn't we just take the young boys with us?"

"Akito told me he wished to speak with them. They must be here when he is."

They didn't need to go into specifics about why. They could all fill in enough blanks by themselves.

Though the current situation was very serious, there were enough members of the current party that were incapable of feeling worry that one could not tell, out of context, that something big was about to go down.

"It's a break in!" Momo giggled, jumping up and down. "Take care, Ru-Ru!" Momo was about to thrown herself at Ru, but Kagi stopped her this time. "Take care." He said turning to Ru, slapping a strong hand together with his. "We'll get 'em, don't worry."

Ru tried to put on a confident smile in return, but they could tell he was overcome with worry already. Kagi turned and pointed at the three Sohma boys who were abandoned on the couches. "You guys watch 'im, okay?"

"Alright." Haru replied while Kyo and Yuki were still confused.

Momo jumped at Kagi as the line of Sohma girls poked each other out the door. "Me too, right? I can watch too!"

"You can hide in the bushes."

"Yeah! I can! I can!"

"Hitori-san?" With only the Hatori woman left holding the door after Kagi and Momo finally got through the doorway, Ru approached her, both gratitude and worry etched in his face. "Thank you for doing all of this."

If everything else about miss Hato had been her own and not Hatori's, this one little smile would've reminded everyone of Hatori anyhow. It was a smile, though it was small, that made you feel very warm and rewarded knowing that you invoked it. "Don't mention it."

Ru mirrored it back as Hitori closed the door after her.

Ru stood there staring at the door for a minute as the silence in the house became more and more noticeable.

"I guess all that there's left to do is wait." Ru sighed slightly, the quiet not helping him one bit. He stuck his hands in his pockets, not knowing what else to do with them. "Well," he walked back around the couches to the three Sohma boys sitting there, "Is anyone hungry?"

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**note**: Aaya makes a joke about Hitori's name. 'Hato' means 'dove', while 'Hito' means 'man' or 'person'. Aaya's saying she calls Hitori 'Miss Dove' instead of 'Miss Man'

_**name notes**_

_- 'Hitori' is a Japanese counter. Directly translated it means 'one thing', but hitori can also be a person counter so it can mean 'one person' or 'alone'._

_- Shigure's twin's name is 'Shigeru' which means to 'grow thick' or 'bloom'. The nickname that Aaya called him: 'Shigen' means 'wise remark'._

_- Kagi's full name is 'Kagiru' which means 'limit' or 'terminate'_

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I hope that chapter wasn't too confusing for all of you (or too long. It's 12 pages!). I didn't change Ayame's name since it was so feminine anyway, but to help you from being confused, the female Ayame is almost always called Aaya.

There are a whole lot of characters in play right now and I'm going to try as hard as I can to keep you from getting lost. It's going to be really really hard since the next chapters are going to be the final ones and people will be getting separated and find other people. I'll try to say who I'm talking about that the beginning of each scene change.

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Thank you for reading and if you have the time, I would appreciate it if you reviewed my chapter. I worked really hard on it. Thank you again.


	8. Chapter 8

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

I don't own Fruits Baskets. I sold the rights because I didn't want to deal with everyone hating me because of my chose of pairings and my lame excuse for not pairing Yuki with Tohru.

Read the 14th book if you don't know what I'm talking about.

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Thank you, kind reviewers. Your time and your little touch of effort and praise shown by reviewing me brings me so much happiness. I'm very thankful. I bow, humbly, to you.

I've got three reviews! I'm keeping with it!

**JennyKim319**: I'm flattered that you adore my name choice so much. It took a lot of poking on the translator. All I could do was punch in different combinations of sounds since and it would come up with a list of that word. This chapter is shorter and won't have any new faces, but you should love the next one.

**Yanielle**: Isn't the busy signal thing great? I'm glad it wasn't confusing… Would that actually happen on a cell phone or would you just get a whole bunch of missed calls?

**Damki**: Welcome back, loyal reviewer. I thank you for going back and reviewing my 6th chapter too. I am flattered. I've been working real hard to at least type the whole story down so I can go back and finalizing and post chapters whenever I want and not make all of you wait so long. I'M SORRY!!!!!

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**warning:** Since I'm writing in the Fruits Basket style, I will be making jokes and comments that would only make sense if one knew Japanese. I will leave notes to explain them at the end of the chapters.

Leave a comment in the review if there's still something you don't get and I'll fix it just for you.

**------**

**update:** The end starts here.

The three Sohma girls (Kyoko, Yukiko, and Hatsuhara) and Tohru have officially joined up with Kagura, Momiji, Shigure, Ayame and Hatori and they're starting into the compound.

The three captive Sohma boys (Yuki, Kyo, and Haru) are having a nice conversation with Ru.

ENJOY!

**------**

**Chapter 8 - **

_The wind began to pick up and tear at them. Before they had even started they already knew this was not going to end well._

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So the climax of our story swiftly approaches on many feet at various speeds and volumes. In the following chapters, perhaps, all the secrets that these newfound Sohmas have might be revealed. The ones that don't will be left up to you to solve, for they will remain unsolved otherwise.

A small group of our original Sohmas (Shigure, Ayame, Hatori, Kagura, and Momiji) led by three of the Secret Sohmas (Yukiko, Kyoko, and Hara) stole quickly through the first gate, though, regrettably, not quietly.

"My, how grand a place is this. Truly those western architects know how to build a house right, though they lack the delicate finesse of our eastern style. The colors are so droll. I shall have to come back when we're not on a rescue mission and inspire a new look."

"And I shall accompany you!"

"Would you guys shut-up!"

The first blockade of the facility was very open, the first wall quite low and having no actual gate, but a decorative opening. Most of that first area resembled something of a park. There were lines of trees and a small play area with swings, a slide, a sandbox and other playthings. The houses were cute and homely and placed snugly next to the other, casting the illusion of a Victorian city block.

Yukiko made an analysis of the area, glancing down the row to where the next gates should be. "We should split up."

"But- Momiji protested, "We don't know our way. Your house is different than ours."

Hara soothed Momiji. "We stand out too much in such a large group. I would be much more dangerous if we stayed in a group."

Yukiko nodded in agreement. Kyoko wasn't paying attention. "We'll do three groups, then, a group for each one of us so no one gets lost, agreed?"

"OO!" Ayame leapt up with all his brotherly affection. "I demand to be in the group of the she-Yuki! It cannot be argued! I will stand by my new found sister until our dear brother is found."

Ayame was about to swing his arms around Yukiko, but she struck out, as Yuki would've done, only with more constraint and less shouting since Yukiko was fully aware of where they were.

Kyoko sighed a bit, shifting her bag on her shoulder and walking past them with a smirk. "Their Ayame's girlier than you are."

Yukiko was scowling at both of them when Kyoko passed her and started up the path. A yard or so away, she turned to the remaining group. "Whoever's coming with me, come on!"

There was some hesitation, of course. "I will come with you, Kyo-chan!" Kagura jumped, hurrying to Kyoko's side. Somehow having Kagura's affection didn't make her feel better.

Ayame was clinging to Yukiko, but Hatori's better judgment stepped in. "Perhaps you shouldn't go with Yukiko-san, Ayame."

"Alas, Haa-san, you're right. My brotherly affection would get in the way of saving my dear brother. I shall go with Kyoko, then!"

"HELL NO!!!" Ayame was about to throw himself at Kyoko, but she slapped him down. Momiji was sent into giggles.

Hara stepped in to accept responsibility for the loud one. "I'll take him."

"Good." Hatori said quickly before Ayame could say anything else. "I'll go with Ayame."

"And I'll go with them!" Shigure cheered.

Yukiko looked up from her relieved sigh that she was free of Yuki's brother. "That would make the numbers uneven. Go with Kyoko."

"Wha- No-!"

"Alright." Shigure grinned devilishly at Kyoko, his eyes transformed with his mischievous expression. "I'll go with Kyoko."

Kyoko was a bit taken aback, frightened almost by Shigure's glance, but she covered in quickly, scowling at both him and Yukiko. "You're both twisted."

Kyoko said little else and started off to the right of the path. Ayame reached out for Shigure's hand as he followed and Shigure reached desperately back until Kyoko dragged him behind the right most row of houses with Kagura.

Yukiko was glad to see them gone. Hara was standing next to her, watching the small group leave with both regret and amusement. "We should be off, then. No point in trying to hide them, eh?"

Yukiko turned to look at her. "You'll take the middle path? Honda-san, Momiji and I shall take the park trail, then."

Hara sent Yukiko her own amused glance when she said 'Honda-san', but didn't comment on it. She sent Hatori and Ayame to start walking, and then started herself after them. "Please take care, Yukiko."

Yukiko could only see Hara's back. The white haired girl turned her head slightly to smile at the delicate one, who merely looked back at her. "Thank you."

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"Wow." Yuki proclaimed after popping a dumpling into his mouth. "Did you make this?"

Ru-san smiled back, removing his apron. "Yes, I did. You like them?"

Yuki smiled back, a polite little smile. "I do. They're very good."

"Yukiko and Kyoko wrapped them."

"That would explain why half of them look lopsided."

Ru laughed, whole-heartedly, at Yuki and Kyo's frustrated and flustered expressions as he sat down at the table. It was a cute little sight. Ru had moved everyone into the dining area, which was in the room over from the couches they were in before. Though everything was very western styled, Ru appeared from the kitchen with exquisite Japanese cuisine. The style of the food had not been affected by the fire all those years back.

"Actually," Ru grinned, "Kyoko and Yukiko are very good cooks. Yukiko's can only make something if it comes with instructions, of course, but Kyoko's made some excellent soups all on her own."

Haru, and Yuki for that matter, had to hold back their laughter when seeing Kyo's reaction to that comment. Yuki's reaction to Ru's comment was humorous too, but Kyo's dwarfed his expression ten-fold.

"Kyo's very good at making onigiri." Haru pointed out.

"Yes!" Ru chimed, smiling brightly. "Kyoko is very skilled at molding onigiri as well. She makes them better than I do."

Something resembling a competition between men at crafting onigiri began to form and the noise level went up a bit. The Sohma boys noticed something with this male version of Tohru. Ru laughed more. True that Tohru was always smiling and she laughed quite a bit, but Ru seemed to do more laughing than smiling. Perhaps it was because he was with three Sohma boys and not Ru's usual three Sohma girls. Or maybe it was simply because he himself was a boy and not a girl.

Ru had barely returned to the dining room with the rice cooker when the doorbell rang. Ru looked up in the direction of the door and then to the three Sohma boys. "Do you think they're back already?" he asked.

The Sohma boys looked at each other. They didn't know anything about this place that they had landed so they really had no idea how long it would take to be rescued. Ru placed the rice cooker on the table and headed for the door. The boys began to stand up and follow when there was a rapping at the window. Yuki and Kyo were blinking in a confused manner when Haru walked over to the window and pulled it open. Momo's head instantly shoved its way through he opening. "Where's Ru-Ru?"

Haru was attempting to help little Momo in through the window when Yuki responded, "he's answering the door."

"Oh no!" Momo wailed, clamoring through the window and landing hard on the floor. "Ru-kun!" the girl cried out as she attempted to scramble to her feet.

"What's wrong?" Haru asked. Momo was too late, and Kyo and Yuki, standing in the living room separator, knew why. Ru-san had already opened the door and standing on the porch they saw the tall young man dressed in his usual black, his hair falling into his face, his eyes dark and evil.

Momo bit her lip as she stopped herself on a chair, weak with her defeat. "Akito's coming."

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**note**: There are no notes

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This chapter's a bit shorter than the last one (about half as long) and it will be much shorter than the next one (Which is right now 9ish pages, I think), which will be the whole journey through the gates… I think. You will like it. We get to meet people!

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I have activated my anonymous reviewers thing so anyone can review me now. I greatly enjoy feedback of any kind so please review me. I'm working very hard on this story.

Thank you again. You are very kind.


	9. Chapter 9

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

I don't own Fruits Baskets. I lied in the last chapter. I never sold the rights 'cause I never had them. I never have and I never will, but maybe I'll write a screenplay or a manga someday and some random critic can say that it's better than Fruits Basket (if that's possible. Fruits Basket's will be pretty hard to beat)….. (the manga, not the anime. The anime will be easy to beat.)

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I HAVE FIVE! I HAVE FIVE AGAIN!

The record for reviewers is five. Maybe I can break that before the story's done. You reviewers are so kind. Thank you very much for reviewing. I am very thankful.

**Damki**: Indeed, this chapter finally exists. I was worried I wouldn't pull it off, but I've got this one all planned out as compared to others… the only stories of mine I'd recommend reading are this one, Second try for love, and Twice Lost, Once Found. They're both Inu-Yasha fics. Don't worry; I don't screw with my fanfics like so many others.

I'm glad you think may chapters cover a good range of emotions. It's really not my doing. Mangas are just written that way.

(Oh, yeah… this pictures…. I'll try! I swear I'm gonna try!

**JennyKim319**: Is that really such a huge cliffhanger? Well… I guess Akito showing up at all causes tension so I guess we shall call it a cliffhanger. It does end in the middle of the scene, doesn't it?

I'm pleased it caused laughter. I like when I can do that. I've gotten much better at it, I think. You should really like this chapter!

**Yanielle**: Aha! So you're an anon now, are ya? I'm glad you have returned once again to review and that you want to know what happens next. I, too, want to know what happens next… I'm just pulling your string. I already wrote it.

I added something special for you. I hope you like 'im!

**Seadrance**: OO! A newcomer! I love newcomers! They make me happy! I love Ayaa too. It's hard to write long loud mini-monologues for these people. You should like this chapter!

**moonflower**: Look! Look! She said she wanted to review me! OMG! I'm gonna cry! You were really waiting to me able to review me? I'm gonna cry. I'm not even kidding.

I'm so happy you like the idea! I'm glad I thought of it and got to write it for you. It's not the first time I've done something genderswitch, but it's the 1st time I've written something about it. I'd much prefer a genderswitch fanfic to an Mpreg or something. That's the just weird.

Enjoy the rest of my story as it slowly comes to a close.

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**warning:** Since I'm writing in the Fruits Basket style, I will be making jokes and comments that would only make sense if one knew Japanese. I will leave notes to explain them at the end of the chapters.

Leave a comment in the review if there's still something you don't get and I'll fix it just for you.

**------**

**update:** The climax continues.

The three Sohma girls (Kyoko, Yukiko, and Hatsuhara) have split up into groups to three and headed into the compounds: Kyoko, Kagura and Shigure on the right side; Hara, Ayame and Hatori down the middle; Yukiko, Tohru, and Momiji on the left side.

The three captive Sohma boys (Yuki, Kyo, and Haru) just let Momo in through the window, but she's too late to warn Ru about Akito.

ENJOY!

**------**

**Chapter 9 - **

_They stood in their assigned places and waited. A silent cry rose up from the stone walls, a cry that could not be heard by man, a cry for a revolution that was about to begin._

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"Akito-san." Ru tried his best to wear a welcoming greeting, though he made no move to let Akito into the house. "What brings you here?"

The healthy young man all dressed in black was standing in the shadow of the porch, his eyes glinting with an unseen light. His voice sounded pleasant, as it should have, but he could not hide the contempt in his eyes. "I wanted to see how our guests were doing. I never got to properly greet them and I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for us all to get acquainted."

Ru could feel the contradiction between Akito's voice and his eyes. Ru held strong, but the ones standing inside could see his hands beginning to shake.

Akito's eyes bore into Ru's as he felt his weakness. Akito stepped up to Ru who was shorter than him. Akito wasn't too much taller, but his presence towered over Ru's "I would like them to be with **me** while they're here."

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"Yukiko-chan? Where are you leading us?"

Momiji clung to Tohru and visa versa as they slipped down a path to the left of the main road, Hara, Ayame, and Hatori walking up the main road, and Kyoko, Kagura, and Shigure slinking behind the houses on the right.

"The gate we must get through is at the far side of this wall. This path will lead up through the park area so we may approach the gate from the left."

"Oh," Tohru chimed with excitement. "You have a park?"

Yukiko nodded, walking in front of them so they could not really see her face. "We Juunishi are not often let to roam from here freely, especially the younger, so the park area was a place to gather."

Tohru and Momiji were starring at Yukiko's back, knowing what expression she must've had on her face only by the somber note in her tone.

_Was?_

"You don't go there anymore?" Momiji asked in an innocent, but understanding tone.

Yukiko didn't pause in her response. "I never saw it as mine to go to."

As they walked closer to the park and the trees were arranged in a less orderly manner, soft sounds of laughter began to fill the air.

"Where did you go, then?" Momiji asked.

Abandoned swings moaned silently in the wind, sand thrown in disarray, metal bars beginning to rust. "Nowhere." Yukiko answered in the same tone she had used before. "I didn't need a companion."

And there they saw the children; three of them. Two were on the seesaw and one was watching in a quiet sort of contentment.

"Aww," Tohru and Momiji said together. "They're so cute!"

Yukiko was looking at the children too, like they reminded her of the better days that were never hers to remember. She broke off her stare. "Come on. We must keep go-"

"O-nii-chan!"

All their heads whipped around as the small boy that had been on the seesaw with yellow/orange hair and bright yellow eyes ran to greet Tohru and company. The young girl on the other end of the see-saw with short brown hair and a rather ticked off expression followed close behind.

The young boy stopped short of Tohru. The young girl walked right up behind him. "Why do you keep running to him, Kisan? You're a boy, you should start acting like on-"

The young brown haired girl had discovered what Kisan had discovered at almost the same time. "HE'S A GIRL!"

Kisan, the yellow-eyed boy, took a hold of Tohru's sleeve and pulled on it shyly. "O-nii-chan, what happened?"

Tohru was beside herself with disbelievement. Completely by accident, she had stumbled upon another version of Kisa and Hiro.

"The extensions look stupid on you." the Hiro-girl said with a moan.

Kisan turned and frowned at him. "Hinata! I don't like when you make fun of o-nii-chan."

"Then he shouldn't have turned himself into a girl."

Yukiko tugged at Hinata's ear.

"Ow, what's that for? You think you can go around picking on children? Where do you get off doing something like that? That's terrible. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Yukiko's face went up a degree in anger and Hinata's stood firm. "This is not Honda-san." Yukiko said bluntly. "This is a different Honda Tohru. Were you not told about what had happened?"

"No!" Hinata busted out immediately. "No one tells me anything. I'm too young to be trusted with anything, and I'm a good-for-nothing girl!"

Yukiko tugged at Hinata's ear again and Hinata yelped in discomfort. Yukiko sighed, not bothering to go any further in this discussion. "It's no surprise they didn't tell you with that attitude of yours."

A voice came from behind the two children. "I was told."

Kisan and Hinata turned around, and Tohru, Momiji and Yukiko looked over them. It was the third child who they had seen watching the two on the seesaw. His face was soft, his hair was blonde and his eyes were empty.

Tohru and Momiji both went rigid, completely shocked. Yukiko approached the small boy and squatted down to address him. "You were told what?"

"That you were coming," the boy responded shyly, looking over at Tohru and Momiji.

"Who told you?" Yukiko asked.

The small boy looked up at Yukiko. "Momo-neechan did."

"Momo..." Momiji repeated softly to himself.

The blond boy nodded to Yukiko. "You won't tell mother, will you? That I've been talking to Momo-neechan?"

Yukiko shook her head after a moment's pause. "No, I won't tell your mother."

"Good," the boy sighed, looking down. "I don't think mother likes Momo."

Tohru and Momiji remembered the Sohma girls mentioning a Momo and a Momiji. Tohru didn't think she would meet them like this.

Momiji was in shock. The small boy was looking at him again with his empty eyes and all Momiji could do was stare back.

The small child pulled on Yukiko's shirt as she began to stand up straight again. "Yukiko-chan? Who is that with you? Momo did not tell me about him."

Yukiko turned to see who the small boy was talking about. Tohru was still somewhat shocked, but Momiji's smile was beginning to rise back up in his face. He looked like he would cry. "I'm Momiji," he giggled.

The child's face lit up. "Your name is Momiji, too?" The small child in his little coat and little hat became excited, though his eyes remained empty.

Momiji was smiling brightly, his eyes brimmed with tears. "Yes, and I have a sister named Momo."

"Really?" the tiny Momiji ran to his older counter part, taking his arms. "Is she like my Momo?"

Momiji laughed. "She's very much like you. She's even your age."

"Really?" the small, empty-eyed Momiji smiled brightly, his smile filling his face with enough emotion to make up do his eyes. "I want to meet your Momo-chan!"

Momiji's hands were bouncing in the small Momiji's. Tohru bent down to see this small Momiji. Tohru smiled at him and he smiled back. "I know she'd love to meet you."

Yukiko had to force herself to break up the moment. "When this is done, then perhaps we can talk about that."

"Oh, yes!" the small Momiji jumped, turning to look at Yukiko and then to Momiji whose hands he was holding. "You rescuing your friends, right?"

"Yes!" Momiji and Tohru exclaimed together, standing up.

"Momiji will help Momiji and Tohru," the small child proclaimed. Kisan turned to them next. "Yes! We will also help o-né-chan."

"WE!?" Hinata protested loudly. "I'm not doing anything! Why should I have to help them? I don't even know what's going on!"

"Please?" Kisan begged, putting on a cute face. Hinata broke instantly, looking down at the ground. "Fine, whatever."

Tohru giggled, not being able to control herself and Kisan chuckled with her, even though this Tohru was not his Tohru. And plans were made.

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They heard the keeper of the next gate before they saw her. "I'M SORRY! I'M NOT WORTHY OF SUCH AN IMPORTANT ASSIGNMENT! I HAVE FAILED YOU ALL ONCE AGAIN! I AM TAINTED! I DON'T DESERVE TO BE HERE! I'M SORRY! I'M SO SORRY! I APOLOGIZE TO THE WORLD!!!"

Kyoko sighed and Shigure snorted in an attempt to hold back a laugh. Kagura was pulling up next to Kyoko in an attempt to see. "Is it Ritsu-san?"

"Ritsuzou." Kyoko sighed, not believing her misfortune. "Though we like to call her Ritsuzen."

"A clever and incredibly appropriate nickname." Shigure chortled, amused with his good fortune.

Kyoko's group at this point had passed through two gates and was approaching the third. There were not many more left and they were making fairly good time. Shigure remained entirely light-hearted, which kept Kagura light-hearted and thoroughly irritated Kyoko.

Strolling along the narrow path behind the houses, Kyoko, Kagura and Shigure finally appeared at the end of the row and came at the gate from the right. A woman with light brown hair and dark eyes, dressed in a traditional kimono, was looking around nervously and sightlessly at the gate.

"Zou!" Kyoko hollered with annoyance. The woman froze up as her name suggested. She turned slowly, and leapt up when she saw them. "OH! KYOKO-SAN! I'M SO SORRY! I DIDN'T SEE YOU! I NEVER SEE ANYTHING! I'M NOT WORTHY OF THIS JOoob-"

Thankfully, with Shigure's quick thinking, Ritsuzou was poked in the side and instantly subdued and silenced.

Kyoko shook her head at the woman. "Has Yukiko or Hatsuhara passed through here yet?"

Ritsuzou smiled shamelessly. "Oh, Hara passed through a few minutes ago."

"Then who were you yelling at?"

Zou looked down at the group with a long, terrible sigh. "Myself."

The group couldn't help by sigh heavily back.

"I'm sorry!" Ritsuzou started again. "I knew it was a terrible idea for someone such as myself to be part of such an important plan! I knew someone as useless as me should not have agreed to such a thing. I even scared off the person watching the gate! I-"

Kyoko whacked the girl hard on the back, nearly knocking her over. Kyoko looked a bit ticked, but she was smirking strangely. Shigure and Kagura were also smiling bright at Ritsuzou as they began to pass through the gate.

"You scared off the person watching the gate?"

"Yes! I'm sorry!"

"Good for you, Ritsu."

"I'm sor- eh?" Ritsuzou glanced over at Shigure who was smiling pleasantly at her. When Ritsu was an actual girl, she was actually quite pretty.

Kagura joined in the positive reinforcement. "Great job, Ritsu-san. That's just what we needed you to do."

"R-really?" Ritsuzou was overtaken with surprise and joy."

Shigure grinned in his devilishly sarcastic little way. "No one could've done it better than you."

Our truly female Ritsu was emotionally overloaded as her face gleamed with a thankful smile. "Thank you, Shigen-san. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it," he said, slipping his way through the door next to the iron-gate. Kagura had slipped through it before him and Kyoko slipped through it now after him. She forced a smile as she looked back through the bars to Ritsuzou. "Now, Zou, just don't shout anything else about having an important job and stay here until Yukiko-chan and the others get through, alright?"

"Yes!" Ritsuzou shouted. "I shall wait here for her! I shall not fail her! er- I shall not fail you with this new important job! Oh! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! You told me not to say that anymore and I did! I'm sorry!"

Kyoko no longer cared and quickly disappeared behind the houses on the right.

"I think it's getting smaller." Shigure pointed out, his hand supporting him against the wall.

"The compounds get smaller as you move in, remember?"

"How many more until we get to Kyo?" Kagura quivered.

Kyoko paused for a moment, looking up at the sky in thought as she pictured the different gates of the compound. "Two or three."

"Oooh!" Kagura moaned, throwing her arms around Kyoko's neck. "What could've happened to them? I miss my Kyo-kun so much."

"GET OFF ME!!" Kyoko hollered, attempting to get the girl off her neck. "I'm not your Kyo and I'm not into you!"

"Kyoko-san?" A strong voice came from some place unseen. Kyoko's struggling stopped immediately and she began looking around desperately to get her bearings. The voice came again. "Kyoko-san, is that you?"

Kyoko looked up to a window whose sill was about eye level with her. A young man, older than Kagura, but younger than Shigure, looked down at her from the window.

"Shihan," Kyoko coughed, throwing Kagura off her and taking off her hat. "Wh- what are you doing here?"

The young man laughed slightly, a beautifully healthy laugh. "You're missing for a week and **you** ask me what **I'm** doing here? You're here to help those friends of yours, right?"

Shigure and Kagura were silenced to watch the upcoming drama. Kyoko coughed again, pulling her hat harshly back down on her head. "You got me."

"Well," the young man relaxed on the windowsill, his hand falling out the window. "I wish you luck, Kyoko-san. It's good that you've come back."

Kyoko was starring at his strong hand that had fallen so close to her. "I would've come back anyway."

The young man let out a little breathe of a laugh, not really believing her but still smiling at her. "Really?"

She looked up at him quickly, her eyes wet. Perhaps it was her knowing that she'd probably never be let out again when this was through that processed her to say what she hadn't dared to even think. Her eyes shining in the light breaking through the trees. Her bright orange eyes met his eyes. "I would've come back for you."

His eyes went wide, but Kyoko didn't stay to see them. She ducked her head and hurried off down the path behind the houses.

"Wait! Kyoko-san!" the man called out the window, but it was useless. Kyoko wasn't going to turn around now.

Kagura looked back and forth at the young man leaning out the window and Kyoko running down the path. She bowed quickly to the man, "nice to have met you," and then ran after Kyoko.

Shigure looked up at the man and down at Kyoko and Kagura running. Shigure passed the window with a very amused grin on his face. "Good luck to you, sir."

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Hara was the farthest along on her trek to the inner workings of the Secret Sohma's compound. Hatori had successfully kept Ayame's volume down, but he could do nothing to stifle Ayame's excitement.

"Oh, Hatori, look at all this strange architecture. The lack of visual appeal is appalling. Look! Does that look like that maid across the row from your house? What was her name? My, everything's so different, but it all reminds me of home! Simply marvelous! I should've brought a camera!"

"Ayame, please."

"Oh, yes, right. Forgive me, Haa-san. I seemed to have forgotten yet again that I was not to disturb you."

Hatori didn't say anything. Neither did Hara, for that matter. They had similar blank faces, though Hara was smirking slightly. Not just because Ayame was being loud, but because he was succeeding in acting exactly like their own Ayaa, so Hara felt confident that no one would question them in between the gates since it took a trained patients to converse with either Ayame or Ayaa in the first place.

The two women who met Hara, Hatori, and Ayame at the gate certainly did not help their situation much.

"Greetings, Hara-san." Shigeru bowed slightly to the white haired girl. Hara bowed politely back. "How are we doing, sensei?"

"Well," Shigeru waved a folded fan by her mouth. "You're the first ones here."

"Well, well well." Ayame had stopped to inspect the two women he had single-handedly discovered all on his own. "Upon my word. I do believe I've stumbled upon goddesses lost on my Earth. You're absolutely beautiful. I never imagined finding someone so much like me with my same unparalleled charisma and radiance!"

The Ayaa woman drank up Ayame's compliments and sent it back. "Shigen-chan, a handsome lord has stumbled upon our door step to grant us sweet praise. Have you ever seen, next to myself, such wonderful specimens in your life?"

Ayame had taken it upon himself to amuse and compliment both the Sohma woman: Shigeru and Ayaa, so Hara and Hatori were left to plan the next move.

"Since she's not here, I suppose this means that Hitori-san is at the next gate." Hara pointed out.

"How many gates after that?" Hatori asked, he and Hara simply watching Ayame work.

"Hopefully that will be the last one."

"Good." Hatori said bluntly. "Let's go, then."

Hara and Hatori walked past the others. Hara glanced around, but there was no one to watch the gate. Ayaa and Shigeru must've thought of something clever to get rid of the watchman. Knowing Ayaa and Shigeru, it must've been nothing short of genius.

"Come, Ayame."

Ayame turned to notice Hatori and Hara were moving on. He reached out and took the female Ayaa's hands. "Will I see you again?"

Ayaa's eyes sparkled, her hair blowing behind her. "I promise you, fair one. I shall be with you soon."

"Don't you worry," Shigeru flirted, a delicate hand wrapped around her fan. Ayame beamed at her as he often did. He turned to follow Hatori, calling back before the got too far away. "Give Shigure-san my greetings!"

Ayaa waved him off; overly please with herself and her counter part. It wasn't long before she sent a very sly smile to her companion. "I liked that one very much. Shigure is the next one's name."

"I wonder how long I can wait."

"Oh, this is wonderful and so terrible at the same time. For your sake I hope that this Shigure is all that you can imagine, but I fear that all this beauty will cover over your place in my heart, dear Shigen."

"My Ayaa. You know I shall always love you no matter who you choose to love in the end."

They snapped their thumbs up in a cheer. "All right!"

Yukiko hid her face with a small hand as she rounded the corner and emerged from behind the houses on the left side. "Oh God."

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**note**: Kisan shouts: O-nii-chan. This means 'big brother' which can be used in both a literal or figurative sense. 'O-né-chan' and 'neechan' after some one's name means 'big sister'. (the mark over the e is suppose to be the long mark, but I don't know how to do that on the computer) I'm not sure why they're spelled differently. I didn't make up the rules.

'Shihan' is not actually that man's name, it's a ranking. Shihan ranking (sometimes called Renshi) indicates a licensed instructor, generally 4th degree black belt or higher (Kyoko could've called him sensei, but that sounds too old to her). The next up is 'Kyoshi' which would be a master instructor or a teacher of teachers, 7th degree or up. His father's Kyoshi.

_**name notes**_

_Ritsuzou - Female Ritsu's name: '__Ritsuzou' means 'statue', her nickname 'Zou' also means statue. 'Ritsuzen', which Kyoko said they sometimes call her (and Shigure said was clever) means 'be horrified/horrifying'._

Hinata - 'Hinata' means 'sunshine', though that's not why I chose the name. 

Kisan - It's Kisa with a 'n' at the end. It doesn't mean anything, I just liked it. (I thought it up before I discovered my translator. Forgive me.)

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Hey! Look! It's twelve pages! It's a long one. Longer than the last one, anyway. So sorry this wasn't their entire journey through the gates. The next one will finish the gates up and then there's one or two more chapters left until it's finished! It'll be over!

Did you guys like the kids and Zou? I added in child Momiji 'cause you wanted me to. I'm glad he's there. He makes me happy even though he looks sad. Did anyone notice that in the manga? Momo was cute, but her eyes, when you first see her anyway, make her look very sad. I hope she (and he) have a happy ending.

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Yeah! Feedback! I love having more reviewers, even if they're anonymous reviewers (not that that makes much of a difference since they get little names next to their comments anyway so I can give them credit!).

I greatly enjoy feedback of any kind and I love give praise for the feedback. This story enjoys devouring my metal capabilities so I like people telling me it's worth it.

Thank you again. You are all so very kind.


	10. Chapter 10

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

The story of the piece of their world they were never meant to find. 

**warning:** notes for the names are at the end of the chapter.

**update:** The climax continues.

The Sohma girls and their groups are approaching the final gate, on their way to rescue their counterparts.

**Reviews:** I'm putting all my extra commentary at the end of the chapter now that it's getting good so you can just read the chapter like you came here for and you may read about yourselves when you're all done.

ENJOY!

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**Chapter 10-**

_The clock slowly ticked away and she stood and waited. She was told why she was suppose to wait, but standing there alone, she began to wonder why she listened without question and what would happened if she too broke the cycle._

_---------_

"Thank God that's done. Sheez, Shigure-san, I thought you were never going to shut-up."

"Oh," Shigure whimpered with a laugh. "But your cousin is so interesting."

"Yes!" Agreed Kagura. "All of them! It was so kind of Kagiru to distract that guard for us."

Kyoko didn't bother arguing anymore. She was rubbing her cheek from where Kagi had lovingly smacked her down before he had to run to finish making sure they were in the clear. All the fight had been worn out of her so now all Kyoko could express at that point was simple irritation.

Kagura pulled on her arm again. "Look, Kyoko-chan! I can see Ayame and Hatori-san! Hey!"

Kagura started waving frantically in attempt to catch the small group ahead of them's attention. It worked eventually. The group led by Hara had stopped to discuss the current going-ons with Hitori. The meeting of Hatori and Hitori was very anti-climactic and even though Hitori did not talk much, Ayame seemed to think it was his life's goal to recount everything he knew to this new woman who looked like his Hatori. This gave Kyoko, Shigure and Kagura plenty of time to catch up. Hara had barely convinced them to move on when Kyoko got to the gate.

"You're here." Hitori sighed. It wasn't really a sigh since it was the female version of Hatori and Hatori doesn't really sigh, but Hitori had her small, motherly way of sighing.

Kyoko rotated the brim of her hat to the side and frowned as she normally did in these circumstances. "We're here. What's the 4-1-1, Hitori-san?"

Miss Hato glanced back to see Hara, Hatori and Ayame lingering by the gate. Apparently Ayame had caught sight of Shigure and refused to move.

"Kagiru-san went ahead to see how the boys were doing and if Momo-san had seen anything. Hara's in front of you and Yukiko's coming behind."

Kyoko spun around to see the delicate, gray-haired girl come out of the trees and join the main road. Loud conversation could also be heard in the distance, implying that Ayaa and Shigeru had decided it was time enough to join the main group.

Hitori's attention was on Yukiko and her two companions. "Who is with Yukiko-san?"

Kyoko turned back, looking uninterested. "A Momiji version of Momo and a second Honda Tohru."

Hitori glanced down at Kyoko at that comment and Kyoko's eyes formed strange slits and looked up at hers. "He'll not know of this one."

Hitori did not feel threatened, Hitori did not easily feel threatened, but nodded just the same to show that she understood and agreed.

Kyoko passed her by once she got the nod. Shigure was insistent on introducing himself formally to Hitori, but Hitori did not take kindly to men of Shigure's type and was frozen to any charm he attempted. Kagura and Kyoko together forced Shigure to move on.

Kyoko didn't feel as disturbed by Shigure's presence anymore since he acted flirtatious with just about every young, beautiful girl that come his way. He was very much like Miss Shigeru.

Kyoko joined Hara when she passed through the gate. Kagura stayed clung to her while Shigure rejoined Hatori and Ayame and they began telling of their adventures through the treacherous compounds and the dangers they had faced and the hearts they had captured. Kyoko had never been so relieved for Hara's company in her life.

Kyoko saw Yukiko meet Hitori at the gate, and she twisted around and let out a breath. "Looks like everything's alright."

Hara didn't nod or make a sign of agreement. "I'm worried," she said simply. Kyoko shifted her hat so she could better see Hara's face, though Hara wasn't looking at her, but up ahead. "Hitori-san mentioned that Akito had wanted to meet the guys."

Kyoko's eyes widened and her pupils dilated. She spun quickly so she could see the Club House where she had left Ru and the others a week before. There was no Ru sitting on the porch or looking out the window. There was no familiar smells of cooking or whistling out back. There were no happy faces at all, just a cold, dry air.

Momo was standing on the porch instead, but her face was not the welcoming face they had expected. Momo's eyes were swollen and her cheeks were red. Kagiru was also standing the on the porch, his face also narrowed into a worried frown, though he tried hard to consol Momo.

The gate creaked behind them as Yukiko, Tohru, and Momiji passed through the gate, followed closely by Hitori, Ayaa and Shigeru could be seen in the distance. The creak was Kyoko's starting gun and she sprinted at the Clubhouse. She ran to Momo first. Hara had run beside her. Yukiko, when she spotted them, ran as well and was not far behind.

"Momo?" Hara's question was understood. Kagiru turned to them so Momo's face could be seen. She looked up at Hara, her eyes quickly flooding anew with tears. Kagiru and Kyoko met eyes for the briefest moment before Kyoko turned with a blind fear and burst into the Clubhouse. "RU? RU, ARE YOU THERE? ANSWER ME!"

Yukiko got to the porch in time to hear Kyoko's desperate calls unanswered. Hara hadn't moved from her spot in front of Momo, trying to coax an answer from her. "Momo."

Kyoko burst back out through the door huffing and puffing, eyes both flaming with anger and contorted with grief. "He's not here. They're all gone."

"Momo." Hara said again. The small girl sniffled and wiped her face with a frilled sleeve. "He- He- He took them. Akito took them with him."

Yukiko bent down to her level. "Where, Momo?"

Momo's voice became a quiet, but powerful, wail of despair. "The main house."

Tohru, Momiji and Kagura had caught up to the others on the porch. Shigure, Ayame, Hatori and Hitori stayed back slightly, but within hearing distance.

There was a silence: A long, painful silence filled only by Momo's quiet sniffling. It was broken by the thud of Kyoko's bag as it dropped hard onto the porch. Looking up, one could see her face was dangerous contorted; her eyes nothing more than enraged orange slits. She leapt off the porch in a sprint.

"KYOKO! WAIT!" Kagiru shouted after her and tried to reach for her, but he was too late to catch her or begin quell her anger. There was little left to do. Yukiko and Hara sprinted after her.

"A-! Wait, you guys!" Kagiru shouted after the three girls, but it was too late for them, as well. Kagiru started to chase them, but he stopped when he saw he couldn't catch them in time. Tohru and Momiji assisted Momo in walking down the porch stairs and back on the dusty road.

"What's wrong?" Kagura asked, approaching Kagiru. "Isn't that where the boys are?"

Wind kicked the dust up off the road and blurred their vision for a moment. Kagiru's eyes stayed on where the sprinting girls had vanished. "We didn't clear the last gate."

"Oh no," Momo gulped.

"What?" Tohru asked, looking back and forth at Momo and Kagiru. "Who's at the last gate?"

---

The three sprinting girls found out in the same instant Kagiru answered. She was perhaps the most elegant of the transformations between male and female Sohmas. With long chocolate hair and empty eyes, she stood with an emotionless, yet sad and tainted gaze before the final gate.

"Kurenai."

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**note**: No notes

_**name notes**__: 'Kurenai' means 'Crimson'. That sounds like a girl name, right?_

_---------------_

Uh oh. Only five pages this time. The final handful of chapters are going to be shorter. I'm sorry. That's just how it worked out. It's getting pretty suspenseful, though, right? I hope I can keep it up for the climax.

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Thank you, reviewers. Your support makes me eternally happy. I am very thankful.

I have seven reviews! That must be a personal best! You guys rock!

**Damki:** Wow! You've reviewed every single one of my chapters so far. You da bomb. It's always great to here that someone like Zou's funny even when you haven't read the series. Did Yukiko really make you want to cry? She really never got emotional moments. There was the one when she has the attack, but it's not that in depth, so I leapt at the opportunity for her to jerk some tears.

Okay, maybe some of the writing skill is my own. I've gotten better since 6th grade. If you liked Twice Lost, Once Found, then you should like Second Try for Love. They're written a little differently, but I think 2nd Try had a bit more effort put into it.

**Serinity's Angel:** Don't worry, Serinity. Rin doesn't show up, unforetunely 'cause she wouldn't get in a car with a group like that if you tied her up, but Rin's counterpart shows up in the next chapter. I actually kinda like Rin's counterpart. He's cool.

**Nekokazam:** Clever username, newcomer. There really isn't too much more Yuki, Kyo, and Haru. I was surprised myself with their lacking. They're in there a lot in the early chapters and some of 'em make a tiny come back, but the rest of the story is mainly the Secret Sohmas. I'm glad you're excited about what's to come, though. I love enthusiastic reviewers!

**JennyKim319:** I'm so happy that you think Ayaa and Shigeru came out the way they were suppose to. They made me so nervous. I think they could be a little more over the top, but if you like it as it is, then the better for me. It was a hilarious chapter, wasn't it?

**Moonflower:** Yeah! It makes my day to know that you were waiting to review me. Good! Someone else thinks Momo's eyes looked sad, now no one can get mad at me for the main difference between big Momiji and lil' Momiji being the eyes.

**Seadrance:** He's sad, but he's adorable. My writing must be good 'cause you guys can't see lil' Momiji and you still think he's adorable. OO! You faved me? THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

**Catana:** Yo there, newcomer. You've the 2nd longest review next to Damki. Yes, the great numbers of the Sohmas makes counterparts very annoying to add. There's suddenly twice as many people and I don't know what to do with them. Unforetunetly, the plot of this story will not get much more complex than it already is. I want to go into detail with people, but it's already chaotic and to mess with my fictional characters too much when people are already guessing with what they know… things would just get confusing. Man, I wrote it and I have potential for getting confused. I want it to be long and complex, but I'm only human. Forgive me, oh wonderful reviewers.


	11. Chapter 11

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

The discovery of the reverse side of the puzzle. 

**warning:** notes for the names are at the end of the chapter.

**update:** The climax continues.

The Sohma girls have found the Clubhouse empty and have run to the final gate to be stopped by the beautiful Kurenai.

**Reviews:** I'm putting all my extra commentary at the end of the chapter so you can just read the chapter like you came here for and you may read about yourselves when you're all done.

ENJOY!

------------

**Chapter 11-**

_And time stood still for the moment that would be the most desperate moment they would experience in the small tastes of life that were worthy enough to be called 'living'. It wasn't fair._

_------------------_

"Akito said you'd come." Her voice felt like ice, a very different kind of chill than the one felt from Akito's, but still a very mighty chill. She was Akito's right hand girl. Akito would hear of their coming now. All their precautions were for naught.

"Let us through!" Kyoko shouted, her voice saturated with an intense and desperate rage. Kurenai made no response, but twisted the long key laced through her fingers.

Kyoko hissed and growled and was about to throw herself at the maiden when Yukiko stopped her. "No, Kyoko-chan. You mustn't."

Hara's gaze was still locked on Kurenai. She had been considering the same course of action.

Kyoko hissed and spat again. "Give us the key, Kurenai!"

Kurenai didn't move. Her long skirt swayed back and forth in the wind. Her expression never changed and her eyes were as cold as her voice. "No."

Kyoko's was about to fight off Yukiko and tear Kurenai limb from limb when a gentle cry broke through the air around them.

"Wait!" It cried. Kyoko turned. Yukiko turned. Hara turned. Kurenai looked up.

Young Tohru Honda was running through the dusty streets, clutching in hands the hat that had flown off of Kyoko's head when she leapt off the porch. The dust behind her hid everyone else who might be running after her from view.

"Wait," she gasped in between breaths. She was breathing rather heavily when she finally caught up with them. Yukiko released Kyoko and ran to meet Tohru. "Are you alright, Honda-san?"

Tohru looked up as she began to catch her breath, small beads of sweat running down her face. She met the eyes of Kurenai whose expression had frozen over into shock.

_Someone running until they were covered in sweat. _

"Kurenai-san?" Tohru wheezed, standing up straight and shifting forward, her breath still heavy. Tohru and Ru really did look very much alike. Kurenai saw this and it began to tear her to pieces.

"I'm sorry, Kurenai-san, but please." Tohru bowed heavily, her hair falling free from their pigtails and into her face. "Please let us in. Our friends are in there. We need to get them. I promise we'll leave right after that."

Something inside the maiden of the gate broke. She could hear it. The sound of breaking, that's what it was; the sound of opening.

There was a loud clank and a groan and grinding of weathered iron. Tohru looked up from her bow to see that Kurenai had opened the gate and now stood behind it and held it open so that her image could only be seen through the rusting bars.

Time slowed slightly as Kyoko, Yukiko and Hatsuhara walked slowly through the gate, as if passing through some unknown portal into a strange new world. To them, it may have been exactly what they were doing; a strange and terrible world. The others could bee seen down the barren road, but they dared not venture forward. Tohru slowly took one step and then another to the gate and passed through it, pausing only to thank Kurenai. The pale maiden looked back at Tohru through the bars of the gate. "Be quick. A person like you shouldn't be in a place like this."

Tohru nodded and they met eyes for a moment. _Such a sad smile..._

Tohru wanted to reach out a hand and touch Kurenai's that was wrapped so frailly around the iron bars that she seemed like a spirit, but Kyoko returned and took her by the hand and Tohru hurried inside with them. She could not properly turn back to see what happened to Kurenai, but she heard the gate cry out as it closed and gentle footsteps softly faded away.

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They were inside. Tohru had never been so afraid to be inside in her life. It was dark. The little bits of light thrown by the lights cast long and frightening shadows. It was a very unpleasant place. This was to prove to be the worst haunted house she would travel through in her life.

"Where are we going?"

"I have no idea. I don't make a habit of making myself familiar here. There's usually a guide."

"So we're lost? I don't believe this."

"Well, if Akito already knew we were coming he would've sent someone to show us the way."

"Well, then, let's hope a guide doesn't show up."

"Do you think he knows we're here already?"

"Depends on if Kurenai went to go tell him or not."

The hallways were dark and warm. The windows were thin and relatively high. The walls were made of stone and covered with thick tapestries, as the floors were stone and covered with rugs, which prevented most steps from echoing loudly down the dim hall. It seemed Akito had traded in the feudal Japan look for the medieval Europe look.

Kyoko and Yukiko, both, had Tohru's hands and were leading her down the hall as she sealed her eyes shut, terrified of what would happen is she opened them. Kyoko had taken up her hat again and was now wearing it backwards on her head.

"A torch would be nice right now."

"Fat chance finding one in Akito's place. He won't even let people smoke in here."

"Well, smoking is bad for you."

"That's not what I meant, idiot! I mean he hates fire."

"Can't you just take off your bracelet and scare him out, Kyoko?"

"Shut-up."

"I didn't mean to offend. I just meant that-"

"Shut-up! I hear something."

There was a chilling silence, but then they all heard it too. There were footsteps coming towards them. They pushed and shoved a bit until they had pinned themselves to the wall of an adjoining hallway and they held their breath. Hara glanced around the corner to see a shadow pass through the cracks of light slipping through the windows, only pieces of the approacher showing at a time.

It was a boy, not too tall and very thin, but not sickly thin, though his skin was very pale in the bits of light that caught it. His hair was dark and straight and his eyes were dark. There was no joy in his face.

"Ren?"

The boy looked up from his empty gaze at the rug beneath his feet as Hara stepped out from her hiding place. "Ren, it's me. Hara."

Kyoko and Yukiko poked their heads around the corner. "What's Suzuri-san doing here?"

"I have no idea."

Tohru persuaded herself to open her eyes and glance around the corner as well. This boy called Ren and Suzuri was a very handsome boy. He looked relatively harmless compared to Akito, but Ren had locked himself off to the world with just as much effort.

Hara approached the boy with a soft swiftness. "Ren, what are you doing here?"

Ren looked at Hara with the tiniest hint of a smile, a sincere one. "I'm being punished. What are you doing here?"

Hara could barely return the hint of a smile. "I'm here to find Ru."

Ren's face cringed in the slightest and he growled internally, turning his head to the side, but said nothing against Ru, which Tohru as glad for.

Tohru stepped out from behind the corner before Kyoko and Yukiko realized what she was doing and could stop her. "We're here to find my friends."

Ren looked up, Tohru shaking roughly two yards from him. He looked her up and down, surprise slipping onto his face. "She looks just like him."

"Yes," Yukiko whispered. "And her friends look just like us."

Ren glanced at Yukiko and then looked to Hara. "Is there someone like me?"

"I didn't see one." Kyoko coughed, now also emerging from the ajoining hallway after Yukiko, "and I knew them the longest."

"There is one!" Tohru said quickly and louder than she meant to.

Ren approached Tohru, finally, and looked down at her. Tohru was shaking in her shoes, but Ren's tone was not threatening. "What is that one like?"

Tohru wrung her hands, not expecting this at all. "Um... She tries very hard to help people, though it's hard to tell because she does it alone and doesn't want anyone to help her." Tohru tried to clear her throat, but whatever was caught in it was stuck as Ren's eyes were locked on hers. "She's stubborn and gets herself into trouble, but she's persistent and-" Tohru could not think of anything else to say. "She's very beautiful."

Ren continued to look at Tohru for a moment, as did everyone else. He turned from her finally when Hara touched his back. Ren's eyes shifted to Hara's. "Does that sound like me?"

Hara's eyes answered for her. She would've said something, but there came another silent tapping of footsteps. Ren looked up quickly, turned to the others and, with a glance at Tohru, whispered, "Go."

Ren gave them quick directions to Akito's where-abouts. There was little time to argue. "Come on." Kyoko grabbed Tohru by the wrist and started leading her up the hallway. Yukiko followed in second. "Suzuri-san!" The young man turned at his name. "You won't tell Akito, will you?" Yukiko asked, calling silently back to him. Ren looked back at them, his eyes cold, but bearing no ill will. "You think I would?"

Yukiko bowed a quick thank you before quickly following Kyoko. Hara was about to follow them as well, but Ren touched her hand. She turned to him and he spoke softly as a young man whose heart was slowly being put back together would. And something unsaid passed between them.

_"You were always so kind. There were times when you spoke so tenderly and so softly to me that my heart couldn't understand what you were trying to say. But still... you always reached out your hand to me... until I had no choice but to reach back... like I always wanted to do."_

Hara took him by the collar of his open shirt and kissed him. Though he was pale and his eyes were cold, his skin was smooth and warm. She released him finally when the footsteps down the hall became too loud to ignore. "Will you wait for me?"

Ren's eyes, though they still seemed empty, glistened as if they had found a way to be happy. Even so, he didn't answer. "Go. You're friends are waiting."

And with that Ren turned from her and headed down the hall to intercept the one's whose feet were echoing down the hall. Hara starred at his back at first and the thin breaks of light catching his hair, before she turned herself and headed quickly in the other direction.

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**note**: This Akito's not really afraid of fire. He just wants to be in control of the fire in his house.

_**name notes**__: the word 'Suzuri'(as compared to Isuzu) means 'Ink stone' and 'Ren' means 'verse' (like poetry or song.) (I realized later that there was already someone in the Fruits Basket series named Ren, but it was either that or call him 'Ran' which means 'orchid', but I had already used Ren in an earlier chapter (chapter 3) so I apologize. If the real Ren was in this story, I probably would've made her a guy, anyway, and then called him 'Ran'. Tee hee._

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I barely made seven pages with this one. I'm sorry they're so short and quick. I just couldn't make them any longer without hating them. Maybe I'll rewrite them one day or make a sequel so that no one hates me by the end of this ('cause you might).

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Thank you, reviewers. Your support makes me eternally happy. I am very thankful.

Yeah! I've got six! That's not bad, right? It's still up there? I wonder if you guys liked this chapter as much as the last one.

**Serinity's angel**: I'm more than happy to let you know little things like that. I hope you liked her counterpart. I can't believe that chapter was so short, but most encounters with Rin there are in the series are short.

**Moonflower**: I wonder if the Sohma boys will be okay too. I can't seem to find a good way to transition to them. This became a mainly girl-Sohma story, didn't it? The dudes are in the next chapter though. They have to be.

Kyoko cares very much for Ru, but she's still trying to sort out her feelings. I'm a KxT fan, myself, but it's a bit different when they're girls.

**Yanielle**: Aw man! You mean I almost had 8 reviews for my last chapter. Darn. Perhaps I should be careful with how quickly I update, ne? And if you want a hint for who the guy in the window is (since I'm not gonna tell ya), check out chapter 3.

**Catana**: I'm sorry the review system was mean to you. I'm sorry you only got a tiny peak into Kurenai's soul. Unfortunely you won't see her much more than that. Perhaps I should've put a bit more effort into this story. And I don't know what's happening to the Sohma boys. I don't think I go into it very well. Maybe I'll try to fix that before I post it next week. Yeah! Suspence! I'm so clever.

**Damki**: I'm glad you enjoy them so much. You flatter me. All you guys flatter me. I'm so pleased I stir up so many emotions and that you can't tell that my chapters got shorter. They're not the shortest, but they're shorter.

**JennyKim319**: Yeah! I love the name Kurenai too! I was so happy when I stumbled upon it cause it works to well! I'll keep the chapters coming. I think there's only 1 left after this, plus a little epilogue thing.

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Remember, If you guys get board enough to think of an alternate ending, I'll consider all suggestions. I'm not sure how much I like the ending I came up with.

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I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!


	12. Chapter 12

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

Our missing pages 

**warning:** notes for the names are at the end of the chapter.

**update:** The climax comes to a close.

After leaving Kurenai and Ren behind, Tohru and the Sohma girls hurry to save their counterparts.

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**Chapter 12- **

_To this day they still can't tell you what truly happened._

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When she burst into the room she found them all sitting there. The air in the room was warm and unbearably thick. The light was dim and unnaturally yellow, casting a sickly glow on the room and its occupants.

The three Sohma boys were stiff and quiet. Tiny pieces of broken glass among them caught and reflected the sickly yellow light.

Kyoko, at that time, was the only one of party that had barged into the room. Kyoko had burst in before the other girls could stop her and now they waited outside for a moment with Tohru to see what the situation was.

"Ah, Kyoko," a voice that made the hair on the back of their necks stand up darkened the room even more. "So good of you to join us."

Kyoko's eyes flared in the darkness as they adjusted. The boys all looked all right, a bit worn out, but all right. Even Ru looked rather calm. He knew better than to anger Akito, especially in the position he was in. Akito had Ru sitting quietly next to him.

A fiery hiss formed in Kyoko's throat. "Let them go, Akito."

Kyoko had to be careful to not meet Akito's eyes because she knew that once she did her fear would catch up with her. She wouldn't meet Ru's eyes either, but she watched as his hands began to quiver as his own fear began to sink in.

"No," said Akito casually, leaning back on his mat, fiddling with some small trinket, casting malevolent eyes from Ru to the trinket, to Kyoko. "I think I'll keep them."

Kyoko's eyes, though they were down cast, tightened and shrank into enraged slits. "Then we'll take them from you."

Kyoko knelt swiftly to take up a piece of glass, but a loud click stopped her in her tracks. She glanced over at the small piece in Akito's hand that had produced the sound. It was a lighter and he flicked the lid open and closed again. "Now, now, Kyoko-chan. Don't do anything foolish." The fear was creeping into her eyes as she watched the top of the lighter flick open and close, causing sickly yellow sparks. "I'd hate for something bad to happen."

Yukiko and Hara burst into the room, taking Kyoko's hesitation as their cue. Tohru followed close behind them and they ran to free the boys.

Akito had a sinister smile as he watched, not attempting to interfere, as Yukiko ran to pull Ru to his feet. Ru stumbled because his legs had fallen asleep, but Akito didn't seem to care in the least bit. Akito was pleasantly surprised, however, when he caught sight of Tohru. "What's this? Another one?"

Tohru's hands began to shake violently when hearing Akito's tone, feeling his eyes on her. She lifted her head, and then quickly realized that she had made a terrible mistake.

Akito's eyes became wider and his sinister smile turned into a devilish grin. "It's a girl."

Kyoko threw herself in between the two to break Akito's gaze, but that's when she failed. Akito caught Kyoko in his web instead. His eyes caught hers.

Behind her, Kyo, Yuki and Haru were free to move now that Ru was out of harm's way and Hara hurried to assist Yukiko in moving Ru while he tried to regain his ability to walk. Kyo quickly helped Tohru back to her feet, as well.

"What an interesting encounter," Akito grinned, his voice ringing in their ears. "So you found yourself a new family, my Kyoko."

Kyoko was frozen to her spot. Ru almost fell on his face when he realized that he had only regained the feeling in one leg.

"Did they help you forget the last one you destroyed?" Akito hissed.

Kyoko's eyes were blurring with tears and rage.

Yuki pulled at the adjoining door. "It's locked!"

"Impossible," Yukiko stuttered, coming up to the door. "We just passed through it."

"They must've locked it from the other side."

"There has to be another door."

Akito began to stand. "Uh oh, Kyoko. You've already gotten them into trouble."

Kyoko's voice trembled. "S-shut up."

Akito began to pace. "Who are you to tell me to shut-up? You don't have the right to command anything of me. I own you. I'm all you had left after you killed your parents."

"Shut-up."

"You tried to kill me, I remember. You tried to kill me but you got your parents instead."

"Shut-up," she croaked as her voice broke inside her.

Akito didn't stop. "It would've been better if you had never been born. All you've done is make everyone's lives miserable.

"Shut-up," she cried, her hands clamped awkwardly over her ears. "It was your fault."

"But don't worry," Akito coaxed with an animal hiss as he took Kyoko into his arms. "I still love you, even if you are a monster."

"Shut-up!" She cried, her knees giving out from under her. Her hands tugged at Akito's shirt. "Shut-up! It was your fault! It was your fault! You killed them." Kyoko broke out into tears, her hands tearing at Akito's clothes and her face hanging to the ground.

She could see it. She could see it all in her head: the moment all those years ago. The first time it had happened. How much she had hated him. How much she resented him now. She had knocked the candle lamp down. How angry she had been, how frightened he had been, and then how he had smiled. She didn't think he would go on then to live and do something so terrible.

Tohru watched and Ru watched, and Kyo, Yukiko, Yuki, Hara, and Haru watched.

Akito took one hand and slid Kyoko's cap off her head so he could place his hand on her hair, the other lifted the lighter to his face so he could flick it open and stare into the flame. "It's amazing that something so small destroyed you entire life, isn't it, my Kyoko?"

"You," her voice was still scratchy from the tears, but the anger it held began to boil up. She had knocked over the first flame all those years ago, but Akito had went and knocked down all the others. "It was you who did it! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!!"

She sprung up and knocked Akito off his feet and onto his back. "YOU RUINED ALL OF OUR LIVES!!!"

Akito was simply laughing, amused with Kyoko's anger. "And what if I did? What can you do about it now? You're too late."

"No," Kyoko hissed, her anger permanently set into her scowl, "It's not too late to take you with me."

For the first time in their lives they saw Akito show fear and the last thing Akito saw was all the hatred and loathing he had planted in Kyoko overflow and return to destroy him.

Kyoko socked him right across the face with a well-trained fist, slamming his head back. Akito didn't move after that. He wasn't dead. Kyoko wouldn't let him die yet, but his lighter, when Kyoko had knocked him over, had went skidding out of his hand and landed on the rug, which had quickly caught. Now that the spell was broken, they saw the fire had spread, the smoke quickly filling up the room. It was too late to do anything about it now.

"Let's get out of here!"

"The door's still locked, ya stupid cat."

"Well, you're not pulling hard enough, ya damn rat!"

"You have to push, you moron! Look what you've done!"

"I didn't do anything!"

"We'll just have to find another way out."

"There is no other way out. Just this door and that door."

"What door?"

The door Kyoko pointed to opened before they got there. A skinny young man with dark hair and dark eyes was there to open it, accompanied by a maiden of the final gate.

"Sorry, Hara." Ren said with a cough as the smoke gathered. "I couldn't wait for you any longer."

Kurenai stood in the doorway too, short of breath. "Quickly. Akito had all the doors locked behind you."

There was a scramble as the Sohmas and the Hondas hurried through the door. "Ru, Tohru, you get out first."

"Hara, come o-" Yukiko stopped. Hara's eyes had found Ren's and they were not to be moved.

Hara's hand found Ren's face. He was sporting a rather nasty red mark and blood had soaked through his shirt at the shoulder. "Ren, you-"

"I tried to protect you, Hara," Ren's hand found Hara's, "But all I could do was rescue you from what I failed to prevent."

Hara pulled Ren's face down to hers. "As long as you're here. You're all I need to make me happy."

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They followed Kurenai, wide open doors and dark smoke following them in their wake. Wooden rafters supported the stone rooms they passed through and great tapestries covered every wall and rug covered every floor. The doors they passed through were great, wooden, and lacquered. None of it would resist the flame. It could burn, and it would.

It wasn't until they could see the light of the outside breaking through the last door that Kurenai turned to them. "Where is Akito?"

Kyoko was the one who answered. "He was finally abandoned by those he knew hated him."

Kurenai's eyes became wide, her head swung back to face the smoke that met her. "You mean he's still in there?" She didn't wait for a reply but turned fully. Ru called after her as she ran back into the smoke from whence they came. "Kurenai! What about -"

"I have to make this right!" Kurenai cried back, not allowing Ru to finish, for she knew she would be unable to continue on if she questioned her motives.

Their group was diminishing. Outside the sky was already beginning to turn dark and the smoke billowing out from the medieval fortress was only working as a catalyst.

"It's so dry. This fire's going to spread."

"Hey!" A small voice cheered behind them. Three children emerged from the large rear gate: Akito's gate.

"O-né-chan!" young Kisan laughed, pointing through the gate. "Look! Look! We got all your friends out like you asked."

Tohru sighed heavily, overwhelmed with relief. Kyo gave her a funny look. "Who else was here?"

The small blond haired boy with the empty eyes started off in a run back into the compound.

"Wait!" Ru and Tohru called together. "Momiji-kun, where are you going?"

The small Momiji smiled back at them. "Momo-neechan told me to tell her when I saw you."

Yuki and Kyo blinked in confusion. "Momiji?"

"Wait!" Ru called after the small child. "Momiji, you shouldn't go back in there."

"Don't worry, O-nii-chan!" Kisan smiled, finally doing something bold. "We'll get him!"

"Of course we will!" Hinata stubbornly agreed. Kisan and Hinata had vanished too before Ru had any chance of stopping them. "Ohh!" Ru wailed aloud and then started after them.

"Honda-san, where are you going?" Yukiko asked, reaching to try to catch Ru by the sleeve.

"Yukiko-chan, we have to get the others."

"But, uh-" Yukiko stumbled after him in the smoke.

"We can't just leave them." Ru fumbled.

Yukiko's hands met in front of her, folding themselves over her chest. Hair flew up in the wind, her eyes red from both smoke and tears. "But you can just leave me?"

Some how it had slipped out, with all that was going on and almost to her regret, that even though she tried hard to protect, she desired a protector. She couldn't tell him that, though. "I'm sorry, Ru-kun. I didn't mean-" She gasped, for two reasons. One, she had never called him by his first name, though Hara had always persisted and second:

Ru took the hands that Yukiko held before her in his own. "Come with me, Yukiko-chan." He took both her hands and held them in front of him, lacing their fingers together. Yukiko was overcoming her shock from the request and her own outburst when Ru's forehead met hers. It wasn't a hug, but it was very close, their eyes watering. Perhaps that's the closest they'd ever get.

They vanished quickly through a wall of smoke as they ran around the main house to pass back through the final gate.

"Bye, Ru-san! Bye, Yukiko-san!" Haru waved as they ran while Tohru, Kyo, and Yuki were recovering from blushing. Apparently Ru was a bit bolder than their Tohru. Ru was a boy, after all.

Kyoko watched them vanish, her already bright orange eyes slowly turning red from the smoke. Water began to build in them.

_They were all slowly slipping away. _

It wasn't until Tohru started coughing that Kyoko was brought back to reality. "What are you still doing here, you idiots? Get out!" She placed a firm hand on Kyo's back and shoved the four that were left through Akito's gate.

"Wait a minute," Tohru protested as she was pushed through the large gate.

Kyoko smiled as her as if she knew this would be the last time. "Be careful, Tohru. They still need you."

"But what about you?" Tohru demanded.

"I promised Kazuma I'd come back for him," Kyoko coughed as the smoke began to grow thicker. She tried closing the large doors on them, but Kyo got half his body in the way. He managed to grab Kyoko by the wrist with the beads. "Hey, Kyoko. What's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Kyo-kun. It looks like we're the ones who were meant to vanish." She tried to shove him back through the gate, but Kyo was very persistent. "Wait. What are you talking about?"

Kyoko looked at him, then looked at the main house behind her and then back to Kyo, her face transformed into that of a desperate fool. She took him strongly by the scruff of the shirt. "Tell me, Sohma Kyo. Tell me now; Are you glad we met? Did we teach you anything?"

Kyo looked at her over her fist that had his shirt. "What are yo-"

She shook him. "Will you live your life differently because you have had a chance to see how life could've been?"

Kyo looked at her, he looked into her desperate eyes, eyes that were exactly like his and yet nothing like his. Hers were filled with a pain that he would never understand, a feeling of extreme loss, of starvation, of temptation, of guilt and of grief. Perhaps, he wondered for a moment, he and the others had been sent to help **them**.

"Kyo?" Kyoko shook him desperately again pleading for an answer, and he gave her one.

"Yes," he said, looking at her with brotherly sincerity, his voice steady and disbelieving. "Yes, I will."

Kyoko's eyes brimmed over with tears. She could not hold them. The tears she had cried before Akito were of anger, pain, and grief. The tears she cried now were of relief and, perhaps, of joy. She flung her arms around Kyo's neck and clung on tightly. "Remember that. Remember us. The memories will be all you will have."

She thrust herself from him and strained against the gate as she forced it shut.

"Wait!" Tohru cried. She ran to gate and managed to get her hand in the small opening before it was sealed. The gate stopped, but it did not reopen. Tohru was half in shock that she had presumed to sacrifice her hand in order to keep the door open. It was a small price to pay to not lose so many people who had become so dear to her. There was a pause. Kyo and Yuki hurried to Tohru's side, Haru taking up the rear. Tohru removed her hand, but the gate did not close.

Voices from behind the gate began to break through the disturbed silence; voices they recognized. They spoke in turn, each voice creeping through the small opening one by one.

"You were created and fashioned for the roles you play."

"But even if you don't realize it, the one that truly keeps you bonded to that role is yourself."

"These roles and these bonds effect everyone and are tied to everyone."

"These bonds can be very strong and can cause much hardship."

"But they are also very fragile."

"Even Akito's."

"God's role is especially delicate."

"A false move on either side can cause the bonds to weaken."

"Yes, Akito made sure to claim a piece of your heart."

"Even if it's the part that turns to hate."

"Your first test will be to discover this on your own."

"And your final will be discovering how to move on."

The voices faded away and Kyo stared at the gate for a minute. They all did. They paused there, the parting words of the Secret Sohmas slowly setting into their hearts.

"Take care of her," came a final voice from behind the gate as it slowly finished closing. "She's fragile too. She is strong but she too can weaken."

The gate closed and they heard it lock. Cold night winds began to slip in with the sunset. Their adventure, it seemed, had come to an end.

After a pause of listening to fire rage and wind cry, Haru broke the silence. "Come on," He whispered, slipping Hara's cowboy hat from his head. "Let's get these two out of here."

Kyo turned and lead Tohru around the side of the wall, heavy materials crashed, unseen, on the other side of the stone. Haru, it seemed, was the only one that had thought of saying goodbye.

Momiji, Kagura, Shigure, Ayame, and Hatori met them at that fateful first gate. They had all been watching the fire too. For some strange reason, everyone was quiet and everyone was serious, at least for a moment as the red sun vanished beyond the rise.

Haru placed Hara's hat on the low wall of the first gate. That was their goodbye.

"Are you hurt, my dear brother?"

"Leave me alone! I'm fine!"

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**note**: No notes

_**name notes**__: Kazuma's name is the same as the original Kazuma's. The only people who have counter parts are the Juunishi (and their siblings) and Tohru. The difference with Kazuma is that I modified him to my liking. You may reread chapter 3 if you want to know what I'm talking about. Teehee!_

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The last two lines would be the little things the people say when something emotional happens. Like when Tohru says 'I'm the luckiest girl in the world' and then Kyo says her nose is running. Something like that.

I almost named this chapter "Terrible Confessions", but that would break the theme of the chapters not having names.

Ten pages. Not bad for the ending. Was that too rushed? I actually regret not being able to go more in depth with Yukiko and Hara, but they had some moments. If anyone can think of something cooler for Kyoko to say at the end, feel free to say something. I'll make some alternate endings if I like 'em.

It almost ended with just Kyoko closing the doors on 'em and then leaving, but I thought that wasn't fair so the Secret Sohmas imparted their little bit of knowledge that they had gathered in their short lifetime.

**!!! Hold tight, 'cause there's a little epilogue thing that should prove to make you happy**.

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Thank you, reviewers. Your support makes me eternally happy. I am very thankful.

**Damki:** Aw shucks. Your devotion makes me happy. If I had a better way of saying that I'd say it. I love you guys. I'm flattered that you enjoy my characters so much and my writing style! There were a whole lot of emotions in that chapter. It was fun! It's so hard to write these things properly when they were originally pretty pictures and dialogue, but I think I did a pretty good job, eh? I managed to add almost 2 more pages to this chapter as I was revising it. I didn't want to post it until I liked it. I'd hate to go back and try to change things latter. That'd stink…

**NekoKazam:** I'm glad you liked it! I hope you like what happened to. It tore me apart to end it, but all things must come to an end. The epilogue will come soon! Its written I just need to post it.

**Moonflower:** I guess it's fair that it turned into a story that revolved around the Secret Sohmas since that is the title of the story and it's a fanfic. They come in and then they go out. If they story doesn't revolve around them now then it never will. Awww! You said 'Update when [I can'. That makes me feel so happy. That's a very nice way to approach requests for updates. You're so cute, Moonflower!

**Seadrance:** Yeah! It's awesome! I have gained the respect of my fans! I'm updating now so I hope this counts as soon. I've been pretty good about updating, haven't I? (except for that large gap a few chapter back (It was after chapt. 8, right?). I apologize again for that.)

**StargazerBlue:** Oh? Really? I didn't, actually. I guess I just have good taste in names, eh? And I'm happy you didn't think the last chapter was too short. I have written shorter chapters so I guess I shouldn't fret too much about it. Your confusion with male and female is understandable. The one that's the most confusing should be Momiji and possible also Momo. With the Secret Sohmas, along with having slightly altered names, they all go by nicknames (except Yukiko and Kyoko) so there's Ru, Kyoko, Yukiko, Hara, Kagi, Momo, Shigen, Hato, Ayaa, Kisan, Hinata, Zou, Ren, and Kurenai. There's Akito too, but since the original Akito's never really mentioned I hoped that wouldn't be as confusing.

**JennyKim319:** Awwwwww!!! You really wish it would never end? Even if I end up dragging it out and there's stupid plot twists in a desperate attempt to continue the story and the pace slows down dramatically and there's stupid side stories about Ru's attempt to host the Juunishi banquet and Kyoko eloping? I think I'd just make people angry with me if I dragged this out. But if any of you people are upset that it doesn't look like Shigure will ever have a girl friend or Ayame or Kagura, then you make think of my characters and be happy. (I'm also sorry Ren confused you… He does that sometimes.)

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_Did anyone notice that the number of lines that are said through the gate after Kyoko closes it is the same as the number of Juunishi? Coincidence? I think not! I'm so clever!_

_Did anyone notice the little captions I've been putting under the titles for the last few chapters? _

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I don't own Fruits Basket but so far it sounds like at least a few of you wish I did. Do you still after reading that chapter?

**Thank you for reading!**


	13. Epilouge

**-The Secret Sohmas-**

Their alternate ending 

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**Chapter 13 - Epilogue**

_She watched as she lost it to the wind, remembering only now that it had been given to her by her cousin, that it was a gift from a young boy._

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"Kyo-kun! Your face is all better!"

Kyo blinked down at Tohru before realizing that she had been talking about his cheek. "Of course it's all better. Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well," Yuki started. "It just seemed like you'd reopened the wound so many times with all the shouting you did."

"Shut-up, ya damn rat! I wasn't asking you!"

Tohru giggled. The days had begun passing at their normal speed again and things were slowly returning to normal. The beam in the kitchen doorframe was fixed, as was the broken tatami mat. Shigure's books had fallen, once again, into disarray and the sleeping mat in Tohru's room had been rolled up and returned to the closet.

"I'm back! I've got them!" Shigure paraded through the front door, overly pleased with himself.

"You got what?" Kyo groaned, sticking a finger in his ear in an attempt to regain his ability to hear out of it. Shigure continued his parade into the main room where Tohru and Yuki had been sitting before Kyo had finished with his bath and Shigure had returned.

Shigure waved around a fat envelope. "I got the pictures developed."

"Pictures?" Tohru asked, her eyes wide, inquisitive and adorable. Yuki had a similarly motivated expression. Shigure plopped the envelope on the table and Tohru immediately took it up, opened it and laid the pictures out. Kyo leaned over her shoulder to see them. "Gah! Shigure! They're all double exposed!"

"Oh no," Tohru sighed, sifting through the pictures.

"Oh dear," Shigure whined. "Those one hour photo places never seem to do it right."

"Then why do you keep going to them!?" Kyo growled.

"What were they pictures of?" Yuki asked, looking at the pictures one by one to try to decipher them.

Tohru looked them over as well. "They look like young girls."

Yuki and Kyo both frowned very heavily at Shigure who tried to hide the sweat drop that formed on his head. "Must've been someone else's pictures exposed onto ours."

"Well, wait a minute," Yuki pointed out, sorting out a few pictures. "These don't seem double exposed."

Shigure immediately swooped down and scrapped up the pictures of his precious high school girls. He returned one photograph to the table, though. "Look, Tohru, it's you."

Yuki, Tohru and Kyo all leaned over to see the picture. It was a cute picture. Tohru was standing by herself, though there was room enough to fit at least three more people into the picture. Tohru was in pants, which was rare, and she was smiling very brightly.

Tohru had to stare at it for a minute before she figured out what it was. "Oh!"

"You were wearing that when you rescued us, right?" Yuki confirmed.

"Yes!" Tohru said proudly at Yuki. She was happy then but, when she shifted her smile from Yuki to the picture, her smile began to fade ever so slowly.

"What's wrong?" Kyo asked her as her eyes began to shine.

Tohru sniffled, patting her eyes. "Kyoko, Yukiko and Hara were supposed to be in this picture. They didn't come out."

Kyo and Yuki felt the sting of Tohru's words and glanced at the picture again themselves. It almost looked like someone had erased the three girls from the picture. _Erased the memory._

"But the picture's still here," Kyo pointed out.

"Yes, Tohru," Shigure coaxed, smiling down at her. "I did take the picture of you and them. That much cannot be undone. The proof of that is right here."

Tohru sniffled and tried very hard to dry her eyes. Kyo lifted up the picture and starred at it for a moment. Tohru's smile in the photo was not the kind that she shared with herself, but with others by her side. This picture was proof enough that there were others with her on the day. "We should frame it." Kyo said simply, placing the picture back down on the table.

"Yes!" Tohru chimed, her tears beginning to finally dry. She took up the picture and ran it to her room. Kyo and Yuki slowly followed her. Tohru stumbled into her room and dug through her closet, finding an extra frame that she had been keeping to put another picture of her mother in.

She slid the picture into the frame and smiled at it. She placed it down on her table and joined Yuki and Kyo to admire it. She had placed the frame next to a hat that had caught the wind and floated to her feet the same day as the one when the picture had been taken, a hat that now sat next to an almost identical one that she kept for sentimental reasons. The hat that had been given to Tohru by a young boy in her childhood that had saved her when she was lost.

_They didn't vanish._ They thought._ They didn't vanish at all. They're right here where no harm will ever come to them again: Here, safe, in our memories and in our hearts._

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That's the end. That's the story of the Secret Sohmas, a wonderful collection of people who freed themselves from their suffering the only way they knew how.

What I really wanted to do with this story wasn't to just write a story about the Sohmas with their genders' switched. I wanted to recreate the Sohma's lives as how they would've/could've/might've been if they had been the other gender. I wanted the Secret Sohmas to seem like they had grown up as their gender.

Kyoko, Yukiko, and Hatsuhara, even though there was great animosity between them, they would still help each other because they needed to protect each other. I felt that girls could do that much better than guys could.

Momo didn't require much changing, but she was very focused on being a part of her little brother's world.

Kagiru became a friendly soul with a violent side. Kagiru was less emotion driven than Kagura.

Ayaa, though it was hard to tell, had an easier time connecting with her little sister. Yukiko's condition is also much more sensitive than Yuki's so Yukiko's less violent, but has a greater capacity for destruction.

Shigeru has more of a paternal side than Shigure. She still flirts left and right, but she's getting on in years and needs a nice man.

Miss Hato has more concealed emotions that Hatori. We never got to hear much about what had happened to her, but she would never tell us or bother to dwell on it.

Kisa turned into a shy boy. That works just as well as a shy girl. People can make fun of Kisan more 'cause he's a boy.

Hiro has even more reasons to get mad 'cause Hinata's a girl and she has to protect Kisan. She wants to be strong, but she wants Kisan to be strong too.

Lil' Momiji is just adorable and wishes very much to have a family. Perhaps being alone is what caused his eyes to be so empty.

Ren became a bit nicer than Rin. He's a guy and he's less emotion driven, but he cares very very much about Hara, but he tries to hide it. He doesn't want to have to hide it, of course. He wants to be able to protect her, but Hara keeps doing things that he can't protect her from and he keeps doing things he can't protect himself from.

Ritsuzou turned into Ritsu's mother, I think. She shouts. She still thinks she's bad at everything and it affects her a lot because she's not the boy her parents wanted and she never will be. She blames her gender a lot. She's less suicidal than Ritsu, though.

Kurenai turned into this beautiful damsel trapped by her responsibilities. I think a female Kureno would feel more trapped than a male one.

Akito just turned into a cocky teenager. Add cocky, arrogant teenage boy to a handful of lowly, attractive teenage girls. Yup, it sucks. He used to taunt all three of the girls, but when Kyoko tried to burn him down, he started to focus on her. It's no wonder she was looking for someone to love.

The Secret Sohmas, ladies and gentlemen!

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I would like to thank all the wonderfully amazing and supportive people who have read my fanfic and gave me reviews and truly enjoyed my story.

**Demon in the Snow**

**JennyKim319**

**Xmissayumix**

**Keiko-lilly**

**Damki**

**Yanielle**

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**Shiaru**

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The kind people who have added my story to their favorites:

**Damki**

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The devoted fans who have my story in their alerts:

**Damki**

**JennyKim319**

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**Lady of the Lost Lands**

**Natalia Kukai**

**Seadrance**

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**StargazerBlue**

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**Ratloverusa**

I'm honored that you could enjoy my story with me. I'm glad to have written it.

Your attention and kind words have touched my heart. I am very thankful.

Sighed,

Winged Enchantress

_The voice of the Secret Sohmas_


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